Senate passes stimulus bill

WASHINGTON—Just before midnight on Wednesday, the Senate passed a $2.2 trillion economic relief package by a vote of 96-0. Some senators missed the vote due to quarantine or self-isolation. Underscoring the severity of the financial disaster, nearly 3.3. million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, compared to just 216,000 the entire month of February.

What comes next? Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed the bill and plans to bring it up for a vote in the House on Friday. She hopes to pass it by a voice vote. If any member requests a roll call vote, lawmakers would have to come back into session or change the rules to allow them to vote by proxy.

Dig deeper: Read David Bahnsen’s analysis of the stimulus bill.