Ed MorrisseyPosted at 8:09 am on February 5, 2021
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The big budget showdown isn’t over yet, even if Vote-a-Rama finally breathed its last a couple of hours ago. Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on Senate Democrats’ reconciliation action, but that only sets the stage for the next attempt at relief and stimulus by eliminating the filibuster on the final product.
Now comes the negotiations, and it might not be as easy as it seems:
The Senate passed a budget resolution very early Friday that is an important step to getting President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal approved. The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie, came after an all-night marathon “vote-a-arama.”
Fine, Keep the Filibuster. Kill the 60-Vote Requirement Instead.
How to make the Senate functional without forcing Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin to go back on their word
ALEX EDELMAN/Getty Images
The standoff for control over the U.S. Senate ended Monday with GOP leader Mitch McConnell declaring victory, even though he failed to secure his main demand: an official commitment, by Senate Democrats, to preserving the filibuster.
What he got instead, he said, was a personal commitment from Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona that “under no circumstances would she change course” on her recently restated complete opposition to eliminating the filibuster. As McConnell noted, Sinema and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin both publicly announced this week that they remain committed to the rule and are not open to changing their minds.
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The networks on Tuesday left out a HUGE detail as they covered Mitch McConnell agreeing to a power sharing deal in the Senate with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. McConnell dropped his demand that Democrats agree to maintain the filibuster.
But the
CBS This Morning and ABC s
Good Morning America ignored breaking news from Monday that prompted the Republican’s move: Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced she is against eliminating the filibuster and is “
Instead, NBC reporter Kristen Welker spun the news as McConnell caving: “The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, was fighting to keep the maneuver, known as the filibuster, that basically requires 60 senators to act for most bills to be passed. But Democrats, who hold a one-vote majority, with 51, refused.” She added, “So McConnell ultimately agreed to drop his filibuster fight overnight, paving the way for a power-sharing system.”