GOP senators to meet Biden Monday on coronavirus relief as Dems ready to pass bill without Republican support

A group of 10 Republican senators is headed to the White House Monday to discuss a potential compromise on a coronavirus relief plan that could gain bipartisan support to pass the Senate, in the first sign of significant talks between the parties on the issue.

The move comes as Democrats in Congress this week are taking the procedural steps necessary to pass a relief bill without any Republican support, using a brute-force legislative tactic called budget reconciliation that would allow them to circumvent a GOP filibuster.

And it follows a week in which Republicans were vocal that they felt left out of negotiations on the bill, and the White House was using aggressive pressure tactics to ensure moderate Democrats were on board with their coronavirus plan.

The group of 10 Republicans, which is led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced a $600 billion plan Sunday which they say they will discuss in more detail Monday.

"In 2020, Members of the House and Senate and the previous Administration came together on a bipartisan basis five times to direct the resources of the federal government toward combatting the urgent COVID-19 pandemic," the senators said in a letter to the White House. "Each of these laws received the support of members from both political parties."

They added: "With your support, we believe Congress can once again craft a relief package that will provide meaningful, effective assistance to the American people and set us on a path to recovery."

President Biden then invited the Republicans to the White House Monday to discuss their offer and the broader effort for coronavirus relief. The senators in the coalition if paired with all 50 Democrats could provide enough votes to overcome a filibuster by other Republicans. The group also includes Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Bill Cassidy of Louisiana; Mitt Romney of Utah; Rob Portman of Ohio; Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia; Todd Young of Indiana; Jerry Moran of Kansas; Mike Rounds of South Dakota; and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.