‘Back to square one – again’: Biden slams Republicans for opposition to bipartisan Covid bill

President-elect Joe Biden slammed congressional Republicans for opposing a bipartisan Senate group’s $900bn coronavirus relief measure after hearing stories from people hit hard by the pandemic.

“It makes no sense,” Mr Biden said of Republicans’ opposition to providing more checks so people can have some income after losing their jobs during the pandemic.

“You should be able to get that money to be able to continue to grow,” he said of other federal aid for small businesses, which also is being held up by bipartisan bickering about the size and scope of any additional Covid-19 package.