Washington’s Covid Truce Is About to End. Then What?

After several weeks of bipartisan agreement, including Congress’s spending $2 trillion to support the economy, we are now reverting to type and dividing into partisan camps. The U.S. is therefore about to see what happens when polarization meets a pandemic. The chances that polarization loses are higher than most people think, but there will be an ugly battle this summer.

Before looking forward to that, it’s worth pausing to appreciate how remarkable the temporary armistice has been. Congress is more divided today than it was during the great financial crisis. Yet compared with the 2009 stimulus, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act is larger, was passed much faster (in roughly a week, compared with about two months) and garnered much more political support (96-0 in the Senate, compared with 60-38). Similarly, over the past month, President Donald Trump has (mostly) listened to expert advice and tolerated significant independence among his top health advisers (especially Anthony Fauci).