The week
Sen. Joe Manchin says he will ‘absolutely’ oppose Biden’s stimulus checks and then send them back quickly after the
Elected President Joe Biden announced some economic priorities on Friday, but Senator Joe Manchin (DW.V.) immediately poked a few holes in his plans. Biden has begun laying out its framework for the next round of COVID-19 relief, reports The Washington Post, saying its plans include a more than a billion-dollar package that will provide ‘more direct relief for families, small businesses’ offers, in part through $ 2,000 stimulus checks. But Manchin, who notes Axios will play an increasingly important role as a moderate in the Democrats’ razor-sharp Senate majority, seems surprised by Biden’s promise. “I do not know where in hell $ 2,000 comes from. I swear to God I do not,” he said. “That’s another $ 400 billion dollars.” Since Republicans are united in opposing larger checks, the resistance of a single Democrat could throw a wrench into Biden’s plans. insists that Manchin ‘does not draw a red line against’ $ 2000 checks, but ‘believes’ the distribution of vaccines should be a higher priority’, as Sahil Kapur of NBC News put it. Manchin may have realized what consequences his fierce opposition to the plan might be, and later tweeted to note that he was open to discussion. “If the next round of stimulus tests goes out, it should be aimed at those who need it,” he wrote. Strikingly, between Manchin’s initial comments and his explanation, the markets seemed to see the possible roadblock. : //t.co/qzugAEnxpL pic.twitter.com/34WGqpsXJ3 >> – Bloomberg (@business) January 8, 2021 Aside from Manchin’s role in the announcement, Biden’s remarks about his economic plans were notable for his extension of the unemployment insurance, as well as sending billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments, which could help speed up the spread of the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more at The Washington Post. More stories from theweek.com 7 sharp cartoons about Trump’s Capitol riot Experts express concern over Biden’s plan to release almost all available vaccine doses. There will be no Trump heir.