Our polling has consistently shown that the $1.9 trillion stimulus package is popular among both Democratic and Republican voters, despite GOP lawmakers’ unified opposition. 

When asked about the plan’s popularity, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested that GOP voters wouldn’t favor it as much if they knew what was in the package.

However, new Morning Consult/Politico polling found that two-thirds of Republican voters back the $1,400 stimulus checks to some Americans, and about half support extending the $300 in additional weekly unemployment benefits. Less popular among GOP respondents was the aid to state, local and tribal governments, as well as money to failing union pension plans. Read more here. — Claire Williams

• Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview that President Joe Biden’s forthcoming tax plan will include higher rates on corporations and wealthy Americans, in an effort to provide help to lower-income families and middle-class households making around $110,000 annually. Ramamurti, who didn’t provide a timeline for the unveiling of Biden’s plan, added that “the president believes strongly that the biggest corporations and those folks who have done extremely well over the last several decades should pay a bit more.” (Bloomberg)

• In an 81-17 vote, the Senate confirmed Isabel Guzman to lead the Small Business Administration, where she will oversee the Paycheck Protection Program, the forgivable loan program that just received another $7.3 billion in funding as part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Guzman, who garnered bipartisan support as well as backing from small business groups, previously directed California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate and also served as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet during the Obama administration. (Roll Call)

• Natasha Sarin, an economist and assistant law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named deputy assistant secretary for microeconomics in the Treasury Department’s Office of Economic Policy. Sarin, who studied under former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers at Harvard and co-authored a much-cited paper in 2019 with him that estimated the tax gap from 2020-29 at $7.5 trillion, is expected to focus on bolstering tax revenue, a Biden administration priority. (Reuters)

Republican attorneys general threaten key element of the $1.9 trillion stimulus
Tony Romm and Jeff Stein, The Washington Post

Twenty-one Republican state attorneys general on Tuesday threatened to take action against the Biden administration over its new $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, decrying it for imposing “unprecedented and unconstitutional” limits on their states’ ability to lower taxes.

Treasury Ramps Up Racial Equity Review as It Deploys Relief Funds
Alan Rappeport, The New York Times

The Treasury Department is moving ahead with a formal racial equity review of the agency and its programs, putting in place an effort to ensure that economic fairness is prioritized throughout the Biden administration as it begins to disburse $1.9 trillion in relief money.

Biden’s Hopes for GOP Backing on Next Economic Plan Shrinking
Steven T. Dennis et al., Bloomberg

President Joe Biden’s next major economic package will almost certainly have to rely once again on a Democrat-only approach after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell shut the door Tuesday on Republican support for tax hikes to pay for it.

Wall Street Looking to Quietly Reopen Wallets for Politicians
Robert Schmidt and Bill Allison, Bloomberg

Wall Street firms are quietly preparing to resume political giving in the next few months, marking an end to a freeze that many corporations vowed to impose after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in January to disrupt congressional certification of Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden.

Senate Republicans plot their Covid aid payback
Burgess Everett and Caitlin Emma, Politico

After getting steamrolled by Democrats on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan, Republicans are planning to fight back. And it could mean an autumn of stalemates over raising the debt ceiling, spending cuts and unemployment benefits.

Republicans on Biden’s Covid bill: We bungled this one
Gabby Orr et al., Politico

As President Joe Biden embarks on an ambitious plan to sell his massive coronavirus relief package to the public, conservatives are starting to ask: Did we botch this?

House Votes to Extend PPP Application Deadline
Andrew Duehren, The Wall Street Journal

The House passed a bill extending the deadline for applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan to May 31, sending the legislation to the Senate as the current March 31 deadline looms.

Fed Seen Standing Firm on Interest Rates, Bond Purchases
Paul Kiernan, The Wall Street Journal

Federal Reserve officials will likely note an improving economic outlook at their policy meeting this week, while also stressing that it is too early to change their plans for interest rates and bond purchases.

Biden trade nominee Tai wins unanimous U.S. Senate backing in procedural vote
David Lawder, Reuters

The U.S. Senate advanced President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, a step closer to confirmation on Tuesday, voting unanimously in favor of her in a procedural vote.

Bernie Sanders Targets CEO Pay in Effort to Keep Spotlight on Workers
Eliza Collins and Richard Rubin, The Wall Street Journal

The Vermont senator is set to introduce legislation Wednesday that would seek to apply an additional tax on corporations where the CEO is paid more than 50 times the median worker. The proposal is among a handful of policies that the progressive ran on during his 2020 presidential campaign and is now pushing from atop the committee, where he can schedule hearings and call witnesses to testify.

As Uber avoided paying into unemployment, the federal government helped thousands of its drivers weather the pandemic
Faiz Siddiqui and Andrew Van Dam, The Washington Post

The drivers benefited from the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program of the U.S. Small Business Administration, money intended to help struggling businesses, entrepreneurs and other workers stay afloat during the pandemic. 

Retail sales unexpectedly stumble 3 percent in February
Hannah Denham and Abha Bhattarai, The Washington Post

Shoppers tightened their wallets in February as severe weather gripped large areas of the country, leading to a larger-than-expected 3 percent drop in retail sales, federal data shows.

Europe Stocks Slip; Futures Steady Ahead of Fed: Markets Wrap
Emily Barrett and Andreea Papuc, Bloomberg

Stocks dropped while U.S. futures drifted ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting at which officials will deliver their outlook for the economy amid a budding recovery that risks stoking inflation. Treasury yields edged higher.

Biggest Banks Plan to Distribute Stimulus Money on Wednesday
Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg

The biggest U.S. banks will start distributing stimulus money to eligible Americans on Wednesday morning, following some confusion over when the third round of pandemic transfers would be made available.

Citi Urges Dealmakers to Send More Business to Private Bankers
Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg

Citigroup Inc.’s dealmakers have been keeping busy with family offices looking to get in on the blank-check frenzy. Now the lender wants to bring its private bank a piece of the action.

Wells Fargo recommends shareholders reject racial equity audit proposal
Imani Moise, Reuters

Wells Fargo & Co recommended shareholders vote against a proposal asking the bank to conduct a racial equity audit, citing a comprehensive assessment on human rights issues already underway at the bank.

Mastercard, Visa to delay raising card fees until April next year
Niket Nishant and Noor Zainab Hussain, Reuters

Mastercard Inc and Visa Inc on Tuesday postponed plans to raise the fees U.S. merchants pay when customers use cards online until April next year, as businesses continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysis: Why Biden’s securities regulator faces climate crackdown challenges
Chris Prentice and Ross Kerber, Reuters

With Democrats at the helm, the U.S. securities regulator is pledging to crack down on companies and funds that mislead investors over climate change risks, but that may be easier said than done, more than a dozen attorneys and former agency officials say.

Exchange leaders say GameStop saga highlights regulatory challenges
John McCrank, Reuters

The recent trading frenzy around GameStop Corp and other so-called “meme” stocks highlights shortcomings and challenges in the U.S. markets as retail investors become a bigger presence, exchange leaders said on Tuesday.

Bargain Hunters Score in San Francisco as Cheaper Rents Linger
John Gittelsohn and Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

After an exodus of residents during the pandemic, San Francisco is starting to see people trickle back as the economy gradually reopens. They’re moving into buildings that had lost tenants for months, pushing rents higher for the first time since the lockdowns took hold last spring.

Calls grow from lawmakers for IRS to extend filing deadline
Naomi Jagoda, The Hill

A group of more than 100 House members on Tuesday urged the IRS to extend the tax filing and payment deadlines — the latest effort from lawmakers to press the IRS to postpone the April 15 due date.

Republicans pan talk of raising taxes to pay for infrastructure bill
Jordain Carney, The Hill

Senate Republicans are panning talk of raising some taxes to help pay for a sweeping infrastructure package, underscoring the uphill climb to getting bipartisan support for a bill modeled off of President Biden’s plan.

A car, some jewelry and a piece of cryptocurrency: The GSA is auctioning bitcoin
Hamza Shaban, The Washington Post

This week, eager investors trying claim a piece of the extraordinary bitcoin rally can look to an unexpected broker: the federal General Services Administration.

Bitcoin Friendly EToro To Go Public Via SPAC Merger, Setting $10.4 Billion Benchmark For Rival Robinhood
Nina Bambysheva, Forbes

Social investment network eToro plans to go public through a merger with a blank check company FinTech Acquisition Corp. V backed by Betsy Cohen, founder and the former CEO of The Bancorp.

Stripe loses ex–Goldman Sachs exec to corporate card startup
Robert Hackett, Fortune

Colin Kennedy, who most recently worked as Stripe’s global head of partnerships, is leaving the company—recently valued in a private investment at $95 billion—for a younger up-and-comer. He is joining Ramp, a two-year-old corporate card startup that aims to disrupt the clunky world of business-expense–reporting software, as chief business officer.

GameStop: Here is What Congress Should Focus On
Margaret Franklin, Morning Consult

The U.S. Congress recently embarked on a series of GameStop hearings to explore the facts and consider the possible policy responses to the volatile trading and market disruptions that dominated market news and regulatory chatter stemming from the “meme” stock-trading mania. We hope that the important takeaways from this episode are not lost in the noise and that Congress stays focused on several important market integrity and investor protection matters that need attention.

Were the Airline Bailouts Really Needed?
Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times

Once again, we have socialized an industry’s losses and privatized its profits.

Estimating General Equilibrium Spillovers of Large-Scale Shocks
Kilian Huber, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago

Researchers use (quasi-)experimental methods to estimate how shocks affect directly treated firms and households. Such methods typically do not account for general equilibrium spillover effects. I outline a method that estimates spillovers operating among groups of firms and households. I argue that the presence of multiple types of spillovers, measurement error, and nonlinear effects can severely bias estimates. I show how instrumental variables, heterogeneity tests, and flexible functional forms can overcome different sources of bias. The analysis is particularly relevant to the estimation of spillovers following large-scale financial and business cycle shocks.