Thread by @ChadPergram

1) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the COVID bill: Expect a Saturday session. Bill likely finishes up early week of March 7

2) Here is what to expect when it comes to timing for the House and Senate to complete the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. This will be the sixth major coronavirus package when Congress concludes the bill.

3) We currently have MOST of the bill text for the bill. But the FINAL bill text probably doesn’t come out until Thursday or Friday. That’s when we expect the House Rules Committee to meet (either Thursday or Friday) to prepare the final version for the floor.

4) We will likely learn if Democrats have the votes to pass the bill then and if the measure is enough to satisfy liberal Democrats.

This means the House could vote Friday. But Fox is now leaning toward completion of the bill in the measure in the House on Saturday.

5) Fox pegs the chances at about 85 percent certainty the House will finish its version of the package on Saturday.

The wild card is President Biden going to Texas on Friday because of the power outage issue. A number of Texas members will want to be there with him.

6) Remember that Democrats can only lose five votes on their side and still pass a bill without Republican assistance in the House.

7) But, remember that the House has remote voting. So, it’s possible that absent members could vote from Texas even if that’s when the President visits the Lone Star State.

8) Then the bill goes to the Senate next week. We expect next week – the week of March 1 – to be COVID aid week in the Senate.

We are waiting to see what issues in the bill may be ruled in or out by Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.

9) Fox is told they are trying to pre-bake the bill in the House to economize time. In other words, if something like the minimum wage increase is going to be ruled out, we likely find that out this week and not next week.

10) The Senate will have to grapple with the budget reconciliation package – and lengthy vote series – sometime next week. Keep in mind that by tucking the bill into a budget reconciliation package, Democrats can skirt filibusters.

11) They could wind up passing the bill with only 50 Democrats – and Vice President Harris breaking the tie. However, it’s not out of the question that Democrats could marshal the vote of a Republican or two for the bill.

12) Fox is told it’s inevitable that the Senate will change the bill in some form. That means the bill has to bounce back to the House. The House will likely have to accept whatever changes the Senate makes.

13) It will be important at that stage to see if House Democrats stick together.

14) It's possible the House could consider the final, version of the COVID package at the end of next week. But Fox is told it’s more likely the House will tackle the final version – sent over from the Senate – the week of March 7.

15) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said not to expect any form of State of the Union address from President Biden until the COVID bill is done. So it’s possible State of the Union would then come in mid-March – in whatever form it takes.

16) The White House and Congressional Democrats will likely use that address as a valedictory, highlighting passage of the coronavirus bill.