Presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden, sporting a new orthopedic boot, said Tuesday that any COVID-19 relief package the current Congress passes should be considered just a “start.”
Mr. Biden, 78, flashed a thumbs-up and said his foot feels “good.”
He had sustained some hairline fractures during an apparent mishap while playing with his dog over the weekend.
Mr. Biden appeared to favor the injured foot slightly, though he was moving without difficulty.
Mr. Biden formally introduced his picks for top posts on his economic team on Tuesday in Delaware as he called on the current Congress to pass a “robust” COVID-19 relief package.
“But any package passed in a lame-duck session is likely to be, at best, just a start,” he said. “My transition team is already working on what I’ll put forward in the next Congress to address the multiple crises we’re facing — especially our economic and COVID crises.”
Mr. Biden has spoken positively about the $3 trillion-plus package the Democrat-led House passed earlier this year.
That measure is dead on arrival in the GOP-led Senate.
A bipartisan group of senators rolled out a new $908 billion relief plan on Tuesday in a bid to break a months-long logjam in the negotiations.
It’s unclear whether that framework will have enough support to pass either chamber.
Mr. Biden said his economic team “will always be there for you and your families.”
The picks, as announced Monday, are:
- Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, for Treasury secretary
- Neera Tanden, president of the Center of American Progress, for director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Wally Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation, for deputy Treasury secretary
- Cecilia Rouse, Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, for chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
- Jared Bernstein, former chief economist for Mr. Biden during the Obama administration, for CEA member
- Heather Boushey, co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, for CEA member
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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