Vice President Kamala Harris recently appeared in an interview with a local West Virginia media outlet, attempting to pressure Senator Joe Manchin (D) into supporting Biden’s new coronavirus relief package worth $1.9 trillion.
While talking to a news channel, Harris explained that they had devised the American Rescue Plan because many people across the country are still suffering due to the coronavirus.
She claimed that one in seven households in West Virginia is hungry, one in six have been unable to pay rent and one in four small businesses are in danger of shutting down for good.
Manchin did not approve of the interview. According to WSAZ, he said that the Senate wanted to move forward with unity and bipartisanship, and that this was not a sign of unity. He has not clearly expressed his stance on the stimulus package, but he has raised concerns over its price and what that may mean for the state going forward.
CNN has reported that the White House contacted the senator to make comments; however, there have been no further comments from Manchin.
The White House press secretary Jen Psaki made no comments on whether the interview was intentionally devised to pressurize Manchin, however, she did say that they had been in contact with the senator.
However, the West Virginia Republican Governor has surprisingly supported the idea of a large stimulus package in an interview with CNN, saying that this may not be the appropriate time to be fiscally responsible.
Biden only needs majority votes on the stimulus package instead of 60 to pass the legislation through reconciliation. However, for this to be successful, all of the Democrats must support the bill and Harris would then have the opportunity to vote in favor of the decision.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to ABC about the bill, saying that several of them have different views about the package, and even he has raised his concerns. However, he believes that they will all come together to support Joe Biden in the end.
On the other hand, the Republicans have proposed their own coronavirus stimulus package worth $600 billion and will be having a meeting with Joe Biden on Monday to discuss the bill.
