Top Biden economic aide won’t rule out compromise with GOP on COVID-19 relief

The head of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, indicated Sunday that the White House is open to compromise with Republicans on the Biden administration’s first COVID-19 stimulus package.

During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” Deese would not rule out sitting down with Republicans to discuss changes to a number of provisions in the new administration’s COVID-19 stimulus framework, including possibly moving to more strictly target a round of economic relief payments currently set to provide $1,400 to American adults.

“We want to get cash in the hands of families and businesses that need it the most,” Deese said. “[We’re] [c]ertainly open to figuring out if we can make that entire package as effective as possible.”

In a letter earlier Sunday, ten GOP senators Sunday revealed their own framework for the next round of pandemic stimulus. Deese said that the White House is reviewing the letter, and is willing to sit down with Republicans to discuss a number of issues in the bill. But he added that administration officials would be “uncompromising” regarding the speed at which a bill should be passed.

“We’ve received the letter, and will be reviewing it over the course of the day,” Deese said.

“That’s certainly a place where we’re willing to sit down and look at ways to make the entire package more effective,” he added when asked about GOP calls to target stimulus payments to Americans to those at lower income levels.  Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R) said on the same program Sunday that those payments should be limited to those making less than $50,000 per year.

The Biden administration and Senate Democrats have indicated a willingness to push the package through the Senate using the budget reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes to pass legislation, should Republicans be unwilling to vote for it.

Republicans, who used the same tactic in an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, have lambasted the idea while claiming that it would poison the relationship between the GOP and White House for the first few years of President Biden’s time in the Oval Office.