Senator Capito (R - Hypocrisy) explaining her "no" vote on Tuesday: "Many provisions in the so-called COVID relief package have nothing to do with COVID at all" (with update)
Earlier today, Capito voted for the Tuberville amendment
What, you ask, is the Tuberville amendment?
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduces an amendment to the COVID relief bill about ... trans athletes in sports?
— The Recount (@therecount) March 6, 2021
"Under this amendment, educational institutions would prohibit from receiving funding if by biological males are allowed to compete in women's athletics." pic.twitter.com/p4wawhHI7Z
(Sorry, you'll need to watch the clip and work through Tuberville's tortured logic to understand how this applies to COVID relief.)
As The Hill reported, the amendment did not pass.
Additionally: WV's other senator, Joe Manchin, apparently needing even more attention, voted for the amendment:
Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote for it while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted no.
A side note -- Yesterday, Chris Regan, former vice chair of the WV Democratic Party, wrote a long article in The Atlantic on Manchin. It's a good read. (Regan is a lot more optimistic about Manchin than I am. It strikes me that lately Manchin has gotten even more full of himself and his importance.)
Update -- Package passes with Manchin vote
From Huffington Post:
The Senate has passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the American Rescue Plan, with $1,400 direct payments to many Americans, a $300 weekly unemployment benefit until September and hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, reopening schools and a national vaccination program. . . .
Democrats spent more than 10 hours negotiating with Manchin to sign on to a Democratic compromise. Joe Biden spoke with Manchin on the phone.
