President Joe Biden. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The White House spoke to business leaders to gain support its COVID-19 relief plan, CNBC reported.
Biden officials hope to create a coalition of groups that support the relief plan, sources said.
Leaders reportedly discussed proposals for $1,400 stimulus payments and a $15 federal minimum wage.
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President Joe Biden’s administration has been speaking to business leaders to build a coalition to support its $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
This includes at least two calls in the past week alone, including executives from Wall Street and tech companies, according to sources.
The administration has spoken to representatives from American Airlines, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, Ernst & Young, General Motors, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Black Economic Alliance, a White House official told the publication.
Some of the calls included Brian Deese, Biden’s top economic advisor, and the Office of Public Engagement, the sources said.
Topics under discussion have included the plan’s $1.9 trillion price tag, the $1,400 additional stimulus payments, and the $15 federal minimum wage, the White House official said.
Read more: Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage plan is complicating the stimulus action. There are two major hurdles: opposition on both sides, and an arcane Senate rule.
Through the meetings, the administration is hoping to create a coalition of businesses and groups that support the relief plan – and many of the participants have been supportive of Biden’s plans, the sources said.
As well as rallying support, the administration is also getting feedback from business leaders, lawmakers, and other stakeholders on how to potentially improve the legislation, the White House official told CNBC.
Though these meetings haven’t been publicized, other discussions between the White House and business leaders have been.
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On Tuesday, Biden, Vice-president Kamala Harris, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Gap, Lowe’s, and the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the stimulus deal and the push for a $15 minimum wage.
Before the meeting, Biden told reporters he was “anxious” to hear what the CEOs thought about his relief plan and said he hoped they could find some common ground.
The role big businesses play in politics has increasingly come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Capitol siege. Dozens of top US businesses cut ties with former president Donald Trump and the lawmakers who backed his baseless claims of election fraud.
This mass exodus of corporate backing could have an effect on politicians’ actions, experts told Insider, and could ultimately affect how senators who backed Trump’s election challenge vote on his impeachment trial.
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