Washington, March 7 (TIWN) The evenly split US Senate has narrowly passed a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill after a marathon overnight session, with lawmakers voting along party lines.

The so-called "vote-a-rama", a long series of amendments votes, initially began on Friday morning, and was delayed for hours as Democrats struggled to convince Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, a moderate, to support their provision on unemployment benefits.  After a lengthy negotiation, Manchin and Senate Democrats finally reached a deal, allowing the "vote-a-rama" to resume shortly before midnight.