10 things you need to know today: February 2, 2021

Biden discusses coronavirus relief with Republican senators, McConnell calls "loony" conspiracies a "cancer" on GOP, and more

Mitch McConnell in Washington
(Image credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

1. Biden discusses coronavirus relief with GOP senators

President Biden met Monday with a group of Senate Republicans to discuss his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, and their $618 billion counterproposal. "It was a very good exchange of views," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who led the group. "I wouldn't say we came together on a package tonight ... But what we did agree to do is follow up and talk further." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) filed a joint budget resolution for the 2021 Fiscal Year on Monday in the first step toward the introduction of a Budget Reconciliation bill that would give Democrats, with their narrow majority in both chambers, a way to pass Biden's COVID-19 relief plan without GOP support.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.