Democrats are taking a beating because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) derailed a bipartisan Wuhan coronavirus relief plan. Members of both parties worked through the weekend to come to an agreement and, at the last minute, Pelosi decided it would be better for the House to introduce their own coronavirus relief plan. Her reasoning? There weren't enough progressive items in the bill and Democrats saw this as the perfect opportunity to fundamentally transform America into what they think it should be.
Senators who were part of the negotiations and agreed to the bill before Pelosi blew it up decided to follow Pelosi's lead. But not every Democrat is happy with the party's hyper-partisanship, especially as Americans across the country are suffering.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of cloture on Monday, which would fast-track the proposed Wuhan coronavirus relief bill. Even though he voted alongside Republicans, Democrats were able to get their way, yet again. The motion failed with a vote of 49-46.
Jones told CNN's Manu Raji he's "embarrassed" by the political games that are taking place.
New - Doug Jones, Alabama Democrat up for re-election, votes to advance stimulus bill. He voted “no” yesterday.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 23, 2020
He just told me off the floor that he was “embarrassed” by the political games both sides are playing.
Jones said that negotiators had made "a lot of progress" .. and "that's exactly what I wanted to do yesterday." He said Schumer told him the deal is "very close."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 23, 2020
Jones said McConnell shouldn't have forced the vote while negotiations are still ongoing, faulting Schumer as well
Jones: "It was just an embarrassing the bickering, the back-and-forth, the pointing fingers.. That's just crazy .. They are in there working, they are making progress. .. This deal is going to get done. .. I think the whole process is a mistake right now.. It's stupid to do it.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 23, 2020
Jones said he didn’t know how he would vote on the final product but he said Schumer told him a deal is “very close.” The vote was 49-46, with 60 needed to advance
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 23, 2020
The Senate is expected to vote on the Wuhan coronavirus relief package sometime Wednesday evening, assuming no further delays take place.
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