Stimulus bill moves in fits and starts

Democrats thought they had settled a dispute between progressives and moderates over COVID-19 relief spending. But on Friday afternoon, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jon Tester of Montana, and Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada had an animated discussion on the Senate floor as the chamber held votes on amendments to the $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

What are they arguing over? Manchin may still have concerns about the overall price tag of the bill, even though Democrats agreed to lower the amount of a weekly unemployment bonus. Earlier in the week, Democrats also said they would tighten the eligibility for individual stimulus checks. With a 50-50 split between parties in the Senate, Democrats cannot afford to lose even one vote.

Dig deeper: Read Joel Belz’s column about Democrats’ big-spending ways.