ATLANTA (AP) — Local government leaders are trying again to secure billions of dollars in federal aid as they cobble together city budgets amid the economic uncertainty of the pandemic. But their quest for about $140 billion is subject to intense partisan wrangling over President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposed response to COVID-19. The debate is making for some seemingly strange political bedfellows, as Republicans oppose a package that many of their key constituents support. Mayors are trying to stay above the partisan fight but insist they need the help to avoid the worst-case scenario of laying off police officers and other first responders.
