The latest on the Covid-19 stimulus bill

As Senate clerks take turns reading portions of the Covid-19 relief bill, Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, was the only senator present. 

In fairness, while this is an attention getting effort by Johnson, for other senators they are better served working with their staffs off the floor studying the content of the bill. 

More on Johnson: He is leading the Republican effort against President Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, employing extreme tactics by forcing Senate clerks to read its every word and offering a flood of amendments to highlight its astronomical cost.

CNN's Manu Raju and Alex Rogers contributed to this report.

Democratic Whip Dick Durbin suggested this afternoon that he may not yet have secured the 50 Democratic votes he needs in order to send the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill to the desk of President Biden without Republican support. 

If no Republican senators support the legislation, Durbin would need the votes of all 48 Democrats, plus the two independents who caucus with Democrats and a tie breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris in order to clear the upper chamber. 

So far, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate, is the sole Republican who has indicated she might consider voting for the package.

"In terms of whether or not we can hold it with 50 Democratic members staying loyal to the the very end and the vice president coming in to break the tie, that still remains to be seen," said Durbin, speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. 

"As a whip, you don't assume anything until the roll call is made," he added. 

When Blitzer pressed Durbin on whether he had doubts on the bill's eventual passage, the Senate's second most powerful Democrat suggested the vote was far from settled.

"There are active discussions under way," he said. "We shouldn't assume the ultimate outcome until it happens."

Watch:

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski indicated she is still weighing whether to vote in favor of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill even though she voted against a procedural motion to begin debate on it.  

She said she has not seen the just-released Senate version of the measure and is still working off the House-passed bill, aspects of which she criticized as “not very beneficial to a state like Alaska that has high revenue loss, low population, and therefore our numbers of unemployed aren’t that impressive.”

Murkowski, who is up for re-election, is considered the only Republican who might vote for the Democratic-authored bill.  

She added she is particularly interested in how the state and local funding in the House bill was changed in the Senate measure and is focused on helping the tourist and seafood sectors in her state, which could be targeted in the amendments she offers to the bill.  

The Senate began a marathon effort to take up President Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.

Here's what to know about the process so far, and where things are headed:

CNN's Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco contributed reporting to this post. 

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, this afternoon accused Senate Republicans of pulling a "stunt" by insisting that the entire 628-page stimulus bill be read out loud on the Senate floor. 

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin objected to dispense the reading of the legislation, so the bill is being read now on the Senate floor by the chamber's clerk.

"Americans should see the bill," said Swalwell, speaking on CNN. "That's why it's posted online." 

Swalwell went on to say that the delay would directly hurt Americans who are eagerly awaiting relief.

"Every hour that stunts like this are pulled off is an hour that a hungry person is not fed and an unemployed person is not at work and someone in need of a vaccination like a teacher doesn't get it," he said.

Watch more:

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson objected to dispense the reading of the bill, so the legislation is now being read on the floor by the Senate clerk. It's 628 pages long.

Aides have said they expect it to take about 10 hours. 

You can follow along and read the full bill below:

RELATED

READ: Senate Democrats' Covid relief bill

The Senate successfully cleared a procedural vote to open debate on the $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.

Now, we expect Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican from Wisconsin, will force a full reading of the 628-page bill, which could take about 10 hours.

Senate Democrats have released their version of the Covid relief bill. It's 628 pages long.

While the bill reflects similar priorities to the House bill and includes many of the same provisions, the Senate legislation differs in a few ways.

Here are some key differences:

Many of the changes in the Senate bill reflect weeks worth of conversations between Senate moderates and the White House with those talks intensifying in recent days.

Democratic moderates fought in the final days of these talks to include more money for broadband and for rural hospitals. The legislation also increased the funding for states that were hard hit by losses in revenue from tourism.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had a difficult task. He had to win over support of all 50 members of his caucus. In order to pass the bill without Republican votes, he cannot lose a single one.

Read more about the Senate's bill here.

Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has said she has not decided how she’ll vote on the relief package, voted against proceeding to the bill — a clear sign of where she is headed on this measure.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune said earlier Thursday that he didn’t know how Murkowski, who is up for reelection, will vote on the bill, but said he was “hopeful” she’ll stick with Republicans in opposing it.