The Return of the Big Bipartisan Deal
The Covid relief bill shows what happens when ideological purity is less important than something that can pass.
There are two big lessons from the $900 billion Covid relief package just approved by Congress. The first is that, despite everything, big bipartisan deals are possible when they amount to handing out goodies rather than forcing each side to accept something they don’t want. The second is that goodies alone are not enough. Skillful legislating is still required.
First, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the enormity of this accomplishment. Congress passed the second-largest stimulus ever, in the famously unproductive lame-duck period, amid a period of dangerously intense partisanship, just as control of the White House is about to pass from one party to another, in the aftermath of the most controversial presidential election in memory.