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Why Miss. senator voted against Biden’s $1.9T budget resolution

By Sharie Nicole

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WLBT) - The Senate early Friday approved a measure that would let Democrats muscle President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan through the chamber without Republican support.  But Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) voted against the resolution.

In a statement, she said quote, “Veiled under the guise of COVID-19 relief, this budget resolution is really a backdoor scheme to rush through Congress a big government wish list that has little to do with defeating the Coronavirus.”

The measure passed 51-50 on a party-line vote, but only after Vice President Kamala Harris showed up at the Capitol to break the tie.

The budget now returns to the House, where it will have to be approved again due to the changes made by the Senate. The final passage will unlock the next phase in drafting of the virus relief bill, with the work divided among several congressional committees.