Joe Biden knew that with a very narrow majority in Congress he was going to face setbacks early in his term. Almost a month and a half after coming to power, the new American president suffered his first setback on Tuesday March 2 and had to give up his candidate to lead the budget in the White House, Neera Tanden, in the face of the opposition key senators. For weeks, the White House had courted a handful of Republican senators and moderate Democrats who now hold the power to block, or save, its big plans. Wasted effort.
“I accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw” his candidacy, so ended up announcing Joe Biden in a press release.
Republican senators, but also a Democrat had openly declared themselves against his arrival as director of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House (OMB), a very powerful service, in particular responsible for developing the budget desired by President.
Joe Manchin, first grain of sand in the machine
Republicans said they were outraged by old comments targeting them by name, while progressives close to Bernie Sanders considered her too centrist. In the end, it was a more conservative Democrat, Joe Manchin, who in fact condemned his chances by announcing, at the end of February, that he would not vote for her. He felt that his “overtly political” statements would have a “toxic impact” on relations between Congress and the White House.
Democrats have a very narrow majority in the upper house, with 50 senators versus 50 Republicans. In the event of a tie, Vice-President Kamala Harris has one vote to decide the vote. Presidential nominations need 51 votes to be approved by the Senate. Any Democratic defection must therefore be compensated by a Republican vote. “Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no way to get confirmation,” Neera Tanden wrote to Joe Biden as he withdrew his candidacy.
A former senator for more than 35 years, the Democrat prides himself on knowing the house and wanting to seek inter-party agreements in Congress. So far, his other appointments have been approved, often by an overwhelming majority. And Democrats have started pushing his big bills forward in the House of Representatives, where they also hold a majority.
But the fall of Neera Tanden heralds the other tougher battles to come in the Senate. And signals the great power of a handful of senators: Joe Manchin but also Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) among the Democrats, and for the Republicans, Lisa Murkoswi (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). The next obstacle, starting this week: the expected vote in the upper house on the vast stimulus plan for the American economy, hit by the pandemic.
Place to vote for the recovery plan
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he had “enough” votes (51) to approve this bill by the weekend. But it is only because the text will not include an increase in the minimum wage, unlike the initial project, that it was able to show such assurance. Because Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema had declared themselves against this precise measure, threatening to sink the entire aid plan which does not count, for the moment, of Republican support.
Your direct and often grumpy tone for Joe Manchin, 73, and media discretion contrasting with the wigs and colorful outfits of Kyrsten Sinema, 44, the first openly bisexual Senate candidate in 2018. The duo do not have much in common, apart from his relatively conservative positions, which earned him the wrath of the progressives.
With, first of all, their opposition to a reform of the Senate which would make it possible to adopt all the laws without going through a first vote requiring 60 votes. Without this rule change, to avoid the so-called obstacle « filibuster », the Democrats, and Joe Biden, will have to find the support of at least ten Republicans if they want to approve their next big projects: reform of the police and immigration, legislation on weapons … An almost inconceivable prospect in a Congress also divided.Democrats “will be more and more angry when they see that the Senate kills all their priorities,” predicts Larry Sabato, political scientist at the University of Virginia. The next two years, until the parliamentary elections, should be marked by “the impasse” in Congress, he explains to Agence France-Presse.
“But I bet there will be more trade-offs than we expect,” he continues. “Because if nothing that the Democrats want can pass the Senate, nothing that the Republicans want can either be passed in the House, or the Senate. But Republicans also want to get things done. ”
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