In 2009, congressional Republicans had voted almost to a man and woman against the crisis measures of the Obama administration. In 2020, the political stars aligned very differently. The election was still ahead. The Republicans had their own man in the White House. If they wanted to pass a stimulus bill, they would need to come to terms with the Democrats. This did not stop conservative gadflies like Lindsey Graham from trying to derail the coronavirus stimulus over the $600-per-week supplement to unemployment benefits, which he considered excessive.
