Political Pulse: Michael Bennet pushes to extend child tax credit

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet won't give up. And the Colorado Democrat's frustration with his own party's inaction on a major progressive policy is apparent.

Driving the news: Fresh from a 15-point victory in the November midterm, Bennet is doubling down on his push to expand the child tax credit and even talking about a second presidential run.

In the lame duck session, Congress is negotiating an omnibus bill that would possibly continue corporate tax breaks and make the expanded child tax credit permanent.

• The extension of the corporate tax cuts are "not appropriate for us to do without also extending the child tax cut. We are going to have to find probably a bipartisan agreement," Bennet told Axios in a recent interview.

Context: The pandemic-era American Rescue Plan temporarily increased the child tax credit for most families from $2,000 per child to $3,000 or $3,600 per child depending on age. The automatic monthly payments — which reached 61 million children — expired at the end of 2021.

• Child poverty fell 46% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the largest one-year reduction of child poverty in history.

The intrigue: Bennet is leaving open the idea of a second presidential run in the future, telling Politico "it's too early for me to tell" on a 2024 bid if Biden changes course and doesn't seek re-election.

Of note: In the interview, Bennet also addressed Democrats meddling in the Republican primary to boost his chances — his most complete remarks on the issue. He rejected the tactic.

• "I hope in the future, people will consider that it didn't really work. And interfering strikes people as something that shouldn't be done," he said.

Yes, but: He refused to say how he voted on the Colorado ballot measure to legalize psychedelic mushrooms.

Political Pulse is a regular feature from Axios Denver to help you catch up quick on Colorado politics.