The White House says it is treating its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and talks about a possible bipartisan compromise as urgent, except it deems it shouldn’t.
Press secretary Jen Psaki delivered mixed messages Monday about how officials are pursuing President Biden’s top priority, as she came under pressure to explain its timeline and when the White House would give up on a bipartisan bill and instead switch to the reconciliation mechanism to force through its rescue plan with just Democratic support.
“Urgent means urgent,” she said, during her daily briefing. “It means this is going to be the focus of the president, the vice president, his senior team. Hence, he’s having a group of Republican senators later today.”
Biden is due to meet a group of Republicans later on Monday who have proposed a $618 billion aid package.
On Sunday, he spoke to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are under pressure to move ahead with or without Republican backing.
The result is a president keen to press forward where necessary but also to take time where necessary, said Psaki.
“The president has been clear that he is encouraged by the pace and the … rapid pace, I should say … that Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer are moving this package for that,” she said. “At the same time, as you know, there is time because this process can take a bit to make changes as needed.”
Last week, Psaki warned the country faces an “unemployment insurance cliff” if a new package was not signed into law by March.
She acknowledged on Monday those benefits’ expiration date could create a deadline for action without GOP backing.
Biden has indicated his frustration with the pace of negotiations, and last week, some 847,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in a sign of the challenge facing his new administration.
On Friday, Biden said that he will talk with GOP members but also that coronavirus relief “has to pass,” signaling he is poised to sign onto the reconciliation approach.
Some Republicans, however, said that if Democrats and Biden slammed through a massive relief bill without any Republican support, it would further divide the two parties just as the new president tries passing several major bills during his first months in office.
