GOP pulling out all the stops to delay COVID-19 package

Senate Republicans are taking on a risky strategy to use all the procedural tactics at their disposal to delay President Biden’s popular $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as long as possible in hopes that they can turn public opinion against the legislation.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a staunch ally of former President Trump, is leading the resistance effort and says he is trying to recruit about a dozen Republican colleagues to delay final passage of the legislation until Saturday or Sunday.

Johnson told colleagues Wednesday that he would force the Senate clerks to read the entirety of Senate Democrats’ substitute relief bill, which is expected to span more than 600 pages, something that will delay the floor debate and amendments by 10 hours.

He also is trying to muster enough Republican colleagues to prolong a series of amendment votes as long as possible.

“Right now I’ve got a fair amount of support in the conference. We’ll see how that support continues in the wee hours of the morning and into tomorrow, Saturday, into Sunday,” he said.

He says the plan is to keep the $1.9 trillion bill in the spotlight long enough to turn public sentiment against the popular legislation, but it’s a risky strategy, as a recent poll showed that 76 percent of voters and 60 percent of Republicans support the bill.

Republicans could be hammered by Democrats for holding up $1,400 checks to individuals, funding to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, scale up testing, eliminate supply shortages and provide additional resources for K-12 schools and colleges to reopen and stay open.