Bipartisan Group of Senators Seeks to Ease Partisan Rancor

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) removes his mask to speak as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for new COVID-19 relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 1, 2020. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

A new bipartisan group of 20 senators convened behind closed doors in Washington on March 17 to discuss a range of issues, including infrastructure, in a bid to avoid the partisan rancor that has bedeviled Congress since President Joe Biden took office.

“I think it was very valuable for us to get together, and everyone is so very committed to working together on a host of issues,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters after the meeting.