White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on March 5 that the $1.9 trillion relief package—panned by Republicans as a liberal wish list packed with non-pandemic-related spending priorities—is an “incredibly progressive bill,” and expressed the expectation that congressional progressives will give it their stamp of approval when the bill circles back to the House.
Psaki made the remarks at a White House press briefing in response to a question about how the demands of moderate Democrats were forcing a series of compromises on the bill, as it makes its way through the Senate, that might rankle the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. These include lowering the federal unemployment benefit add-on from $400 to $300, and tightening thresholds for who is eligible to receive stimulus checks.
