Biden Urges Senate Dems To Rally Behind $1.9T Virus Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is urging Senate Democrats to rally behind a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill. He’s also standing by his proposed $1,400 payments to individuals, even as some party moderates seek to dial back parts of the package. Biden made his remarks in a conference call with Democrats and, atypically for him, on Twitter. The president’s cry for unity came as Democrats sorted through lingering divisions over the emerging Senate bill. Those included moderates’ efforts to focus some spending more narrowly on those hardest hit by the deadly pandemic and resulting economic contraction. Democrats have no votes to spare in the 50-50 Senate.