New: 10 Republican senators write a letter asking to meet w/ Biden and discuss a Covid relief counter-proposal they’re working on. They say it’ll have $160b for vaccines, $4b for abuse services, existing UI, nutrition + unspecified policies on “targeted” economic aid and schools. 
Notably, no Democrats are on this letter—it’s a GOP-only plan at a time when they’re in the minority in both chambers. It’s sure to face pushback from progressives who see $1.9T as a minimum. And it’ll test President Biden’s incompatible calls for going bold and being bipartisan.
The Republican letter comes as Dems are eying reconciliation to bypass the 60-vote rule on a Covid relief bill—it’s an attempt to steer Biden toward a different path. Schumer has insisted that going small isn’t an option.
What Biden told White House pool on Friday: “I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it. But the COVID relief has to pass. There’s no ifs, ands or buts.”
Republican senators propose slimmed-down Covid relief plan nbcnews.com/politics/meet-…
Also of note: Getting 10 senators on a letter doesn’t equal 10 votes. There’s no full proposal or bill text. Only three of these signatories have a track record of crossing party lines on politically salient votes—cut it to two if the subject is economics.
Asked about the Covid-relief meeting request from GOP senators, a White House spokesperson tells @NBCNews that Biden has been regularly engaged with Democrats and Republicans in Congress and that those conversations will continue in the coming days. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
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