Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) showed "absolutely no interest" in trying to negotiate a bipartisan agreement on the COVID-19 relief bill, calling into question the sincerity of the pleas for unity from President Joe Biden and the desire of Democrats to work with Republican members of Congress.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told "Axios on HBO" in an interview published Monday that he will block President Joe Biden's next major legislative initiative unless more effort is made to include Republican voices.
Well, I was WFB (working from bed) this morning, but this roused me to get up and get on the real computer.
Atticus Goldfinch has a very plausible explainer on Joe Manchin h/t to Rich Gardner in the Biden “Shocker” thread last night that I recommend highly. Some excerpts (although I recommend reading the whole thing):
I think I have a strange quirk where I can always see the net positive in Manchin’s actions. I think he’s incredibly cognizant of communications strategy and building narratives, and he plays the long game.
I am thinking what Manchin did . . . looks kinda brilliant? Here’s why:
Senate Democrat’s push to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill stalled out on Friday, leaving party leaders scrambling to ensure that they’d have the votes needed for passage. The uncertainty centered on whether Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a key centrist, would support a last-minute Democratic agreement to change to the enhanced unemployment benefits provided in the bill or would instead back a Republican alternative. The question led to an hours-long delay that left the fate of the entire package in doubt, raising questions about Democrats’ ability to enact legislation in an evenly divided Senate and with the party split between moderates and progressives. The unemployment insurance question: Democrats reportedly had reached a deal Friday to scale back the supplemental federal unemployment payments provided by the aid package in response to concerns from moderates. Under the deal, the extra weekly payments would be lowered from $400 back