House Democrats passed a more than $3 trillion Covid-19 relief bill by a vote of 208-199 on Friday evening.
The measure was approved despite opposition from Republicans as well as from some moderate and progressive Democrats. Fourteen Democrats crossed party lines to vote against it and one Republican voted in favor.
The legislation, which reflects Democratic priorities and was not a product of bipartisan negotiations, would stand as the largest relief package in US history.
House Democratic leaders argued that the package, which allocates funding for state and local governments, coronavirus testing and a new round of direct payments to Americans, is urgently needed to address the crisis.
The legislation is not expected to be taken up by the Senate due to GOP opposition. Democrats also had to grapple with criticism and pushback from moderates upset that the bill did not have widespread bipartisan support and progressives who believe the bill did not go far enough to help Americans facing fallout from the pandemic.
A number of Democratic moderates came out against it ahead of the final vote, including vulnerable lawmakers in competitive battleground districts.
Freshman Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Cindy Axne of Iowa, and Elaine Luria of Virginia all said ahead of the vote that they opposed it and indicated they planned to vote against it.
Where politicians stand: Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, a freshman from a Michigan swing district who was the subject of an intense lobbying campaign, announced not long before the final vote that she would support the bill. She had been signaling to her leadership that she would vote against it, but had been lobbied all day, multiple sources told CNN.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, said on Friday that she would vote against the bill. She and a number of other progressives had been frustrated that their paycheck guarantee proposal was not included in the bill.
GOP Rep. Pete King indicated ahead of the final vote that he would cross party lines and support the measure. The New York Republican planned to vote for the measure, his spokesman told CNN earlier in the week.
In a sign of how serious that pushback from Democrats was, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi worked to lock in the support for the bill ahead of a final vote with multiple sources involved in the vote-counting effort telling CNN that Pelosi worked hard behind-the-scenes to ensure she had the votes.
Some more context: When asked ahead of the vote how hard she was working the vote, Pelosi said, “like normal” and that she was “confident” the bill would pass.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, defended the bill on Thursday against attacks that it is partisan, saying, “We’re putting our offer on the table. We’re open to negotiation.”
Most Republicans dismissed the aid package as a liberal wish list. They have argued it is too soon to move ahead with another far-reaching legislative response to the pandemic without first waiting to see the results of the trillions of dollars in aid that have already been enacted.
