Senate Passes Biden’s $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Plan

The Senate passed President Biden’s $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Plan early Saturday after voting took all night.

According to CNN, it took an all-night “vote-a-rama” and a 12-hour struggle to get one Democrat to finally support a critical issue in the party’s plan. The 50-49 vote down the party line means legislation is now expected to go back to the House for its final vote before Biden signs it into law.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin showed some unexpected opposition on Friday to the deal Democrats proposed that would boost unemployment benefits. That opposition brought the Senate to a halt, as the Dems kept a Senate roll call vote open for 11 hours and 50 minutes.

Manchin finally agreed to extend $300 weekly unemployment benefits through September 6. But the West Virginia Democrat limited a provision that would make the first $10,200 in benefits nontaxable, only to any households making less than $150,000.