Senate Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill on Saturday without a single Republican vote. The New York Times characterized the bill as, “an extraordinary increase in safety net spending in the largest antipoverty effort in a generation.” The bill, called the American Rescue Plan, was buffeted by relentless efforts at amendments before being passed and is different enough from the House version of the bill that it will need to be voted on again in the House. President Joe Biden, who championed the bill and plans to sign it, said at the White House, “I can say we’ve taken one more giant step forward in delivering on [the] promise, that help is on the way. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was so desperately needed, urgently needed.” Lawmakers are racing to meet the March 14th deadline when existing unemployment benefits expire. West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin held the bill hostage until Senate leaders agreed to cut unemployment benefits to meet his demand. Aside from jobless benefits, people making $75,000 a year or less will begin receiving stimulus checks soon. Additionally, the bill includes funding for states, schools, food stamp programs, and pensions as well as a significant increase in child tax credits. 

Democrats are now eyeing a second massive spending bill on improving American infrastructure. But considering the difficulty of passing the COVID relief bill and the narrow limits of power in the Senate, many are demanding an end to the Senate filibuster rules first. Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat, explained how she has evolved in her thinking from supporting the filibuster to advocating for its end. Writing on her Facebook page Senator Smith said, “the modern filibuster usually doesn’t include any debate at all. What happens is that a senator merely threatens to filibuster, then they go home to dinner. There’s no debate and not even any talking. And definitely not any legislating.” Even Senator Manchin says he’s open to doing away with the filibuster for certain bills.

President Biden on Monday signed an executive order directing his Education secretary Miguel Cardona to reverse the radical changes that Donald Trump made to Title IX rules including how college campuses investigate sexual assault. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos changed the rules to protect suspected perpetrators of rape or sexual assault. President Biden signed a second executive order to establish a Gender Policy Council in the White House to mark International Women’s Day and a third one to promote voting rights as a gesture to the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when state troopers violently beat hundreds of civil rights activists in Se...