House Democrats forced passage of a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package on Thursday night

After another intense round of talks between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Democrats forced passage of a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package on Thursday night, even though the measure is all but certain to fail in the Republican-led Senate.

On a party-line vote of 214-207, the House sent to the Senate a $2.2 trillion package that Republicans have lambasted as a costly “liberal wish list.” No House GOP lawmaker voted for it; 18 Democrats voted “no.”

The House bill won’t become law, but Democratic leaders said they wanted to outline their negotiating priorities and show how $2.2 trillion could be put to effective use. The move also allows some politically vulnerable rank-and-file Democrats to register their support for a robust aid package before heading home to campaign.