Biden Seeks $1.9 Trillion for Relief in First Economic Plan (2)

President-elect Joe Biden will ask Congress for $1.9 trillion to fund immediate relief for the pandemic-wracked U.S. economy, a package that risks swift Republican opposition over big-ticket spending on Democratic priorities including aid to state and local governments.

“We have to act and we have to act now,” Biden said Thursday night in Wilmington, Delaware. He said he would lay out a second, broader economic recovery plan next month at a joint session of Congress next month. That initiative will include money for longer-term development goals such as infrastructure and climate change, the transition team said.

Joe Biden on Jan. 14.

Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

The pandemic aid ...