Covid relief bill logjam broken after Senate Democrats strike benefits deal

The Senate had been stalled on the Democrats’ 1.9 trillion dollar Covid-19 relief bill (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate leaders and moderate Democratic senator Joe Manchin have struck a deal over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a logjam that had stalled the party’s 1.9 trillion dollar Covid-19 relief bill.

The compromise, announced by the West Virginia senator and a Democratic aide late on Friday, seems to clear the way for the Senate to begin a marathon series of votes and, eventually, approval of the sweeping legislation.