Political Pulse: Michael Bennet pushes to extend child tax credit

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.