The Republican focus on state and local aid comes ahead of a protracted struggle over amendments to the bill, which is expected to pass the Senate this week with few if any Republican votes.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he wants additional cuts to the package after the demise of the $140 million rail project near House Speaker Nancy
San Fran NanPelosi
Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of professional politicians. On-again-off-again Speaker of the House. It's not her fault when they lose, but it's her accomplishment when they win. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace and occasional senior... uhhh... moments...’s district. His Republican colleagues held a presser to hammer the state and local funds, though the package can pass with only Democratic votes.
"According to public reports, right now as we speak several of our fellow wardheelers are frantically trying to trim back other crazy provisions," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
But President Biden insisted in a Wednesday evening weblink with Pelosi (D-Calif.) that "this is a case where every single piece of the bill you passed addresses a genuine desperate need for the American people. Each piece isn’t just defensible, it is urgent."