Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

The Coronavirus Threat (Mostly) Jolts Senators Awake

Where the economy is concerned, Republican lawmakers seem increasingly willing to take action. It’s a start.

March 17, 2020 at 11:30 AM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Welcome back, Mitch.
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After the Senate was extremely passive during the last round of coronavirus legislation, the chamber suddenly woke up on Monday. Or at least some senators did. Welcome back to governing, Mitt Romney and others. As Sarah Binder, a scholar of Congress, explained on Twitter: “Guessing they are eager to avoid getting jammed again by Dem House (& Mnuchin & Trump). Dem unity plus GOP deference to Mnuchin on that bill exposed McConnell to right-flank critics [about] pieces of House-passed deal.”