Lawmakers reach ‘bipartisan breakthrough,’ announce $900 billion COVID-19 relief deal, will vote next
two-day government funding bill Friday evening, punting a shutdown deadline to buy a few more days of negotiations.Trump pardons sparked controversy but have been the fewest in more than 100 years
Congress has not passed a comprehensive relief package since March. As case totals climbed and benefits lapsed, Democrats and Republicans were unable to come together on another deal. The Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate offered their own versions of legislation only to be rejected by the other side.
Negotiations started and stopped over the course of the year, the two sides often blaming one another for the impasse as Americans and businesses hoped for relief.
A late summer effort failed to produce a deal right before lawmakers went on a weekslong recess, prompting a string of executive orders from Trump. Talks picked up before the election as moderate lawmakers urged leadership to offer struggling Americans some form of relief, but the two sides were unable to produce a compromise. Discussions started again this month, both sides agreeing relief is desperately needed as Americans head indoors for the winter and coronavirus cases spike.
As of Sunday, the USA had reported more than 17.8 million confirmed cases.
Though both sides of the aisle promised a deal on government funding, several shutdowns have taken place in the past several years. Since Trump took office, the government has shut down three times, including for 35 days in 2018 – the longest shutdown in modern U.S. history. It stemmed from a standoff between Congress and the White House over funding for a wall along the southern U.S. border.
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