If the Republicans want to come, so much the better. Democrats argue Republicans can vote for budget reconciliation. If Republicans don’t like the plan, they can continue speaking in the White House, but the underlying conclusion of Monday night’s meeting – and all of the White House messages in the days preceding – is that the president is only willing to negotiate so much. The Republicans’ $ 618 billion proposal without public and local funding is not going to cut it. Period.
Conclusion: President Joe Biden in the House. Biden has the Senate. He has a procedural process that gives him the chance to push through a $ 1.9 trillion relief package with just Democratic votes and, in practical terms, it’s a process Republicans used just a short time ago. four years to block a tax plan and try to repeal Obamacare.
We’ll see on the second point, but when you talk about giving people direct checks, expanding UI, giving people more money to buy food, and raising the minimum wage to 15 $ an hour, you don’t talk about unpopular ideas. Democratic aides tell CNN over and over again that it does not abolish Obamacare. They are giving people something, not taking something away from them, and that encourages members to act quickly and decisively and not give in to say they need to unify the country by including Republicans in a plan.
That’s not to say that the impact it might have on the debt and deficit isn’t real. That’s not to say Republicans won’t argue that this plan isn’t necessary. It is true that there are still billions of the last package that did not come out. Many Republicans say it’s irresponsible to spend more when you don’t even know what you need. These are arguments they can present to the public. But Democrats believe they can win this public fight.
A little about the mechanics
A Democratic aide familiar with the Senate process told CNN that the plan is for the House and Senate committees to work in coordination over the next week and a half to develop legislation. Throughout the drafting, Senate Democrats will consult with the Senate Parliamentarian to ensure their plans are indeed authorized under the rules that govern reconciliation. The House will vote first to adopt the plan. Then the Senate will move.
Before the Senate takes the floor, they will participate in several meetings with Republican Senate staff and the Senate parliamentarian on the merits of each provision they wish to include and whether the provisions meet the strict rules of what can be allowed. through reconciliation. The fight for the minimum wage should be massive here, but there will be others as well. This process takes place in private over multiple meetings, but it’s crucial in determining the scope of what Democrats can do.
The goal is to be finished and have the bill signed by March 14, the Senate aide told CNN. That leaves lawmakers some time to pass it before unemployment benefits expire at the end of March.
It’s a huge business, but Democrats aren’t working from scratch here. They’re going to take Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion plan and bill it. Much of the work has already been done in the beginning to ensure that each committee has the necessary funds to make this plan a reality. The House and Senate budgets respectively gave 12 and 11 committees reconciliation instructions. It’s a lot. It’s going to be complicated. Helpers say they are very clear on what to do here, and they believe it can be done quickly.
Yet there will be intra-partisan schisms over the final aspect of this bill. Not all Democrats are comfortable with raising the minimum wage to $ 15, for example. In New York, that amount might make sense. In Montana and West Virginia – where the cost of living is much lower – this type of minimum wage could be the difference between a business that stays profitable and not. That’s why some Democrats argue that any increase in the minimum wage should be regional, while others argue that it should be phased in.
A reminder: TThe twists and turns of reconciliation will be innumerable. This process is complicated, cumbersome, and will force Democrats to go through a tricky negotiation and stay together in a way they haven’t had to in recent years. Add to that the fact that Biden has pledged to continue talking to Republicans throughout this process and the fact that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cannot lose a single member of his caucus and he It’s fair to say that Democrats have to function devilishly perfectly to get this all done by mid-March. Passing the budget resolution is the easiest part. Getting everyone to the other side of this process without massive internal backlash? It is much more difficult.
On power sharing: why Democrats still don’t control committees
The organizational resolution has not yet been adopted.
It’s the same organizational resolution that was put on hold for more than a week due to a disagreement over whether or not Democrats should pledge in writing that they would not blow up the filibuster. . Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was done delaying this process after two Democratic senators officially said they had no plans to vote to remove the filibuster from si early.
But, the talks dragged on. They have been productive. They’re close to a deal, but they’ve lagged in the staff. The initial fight over filibuster delayed important discussions on other procedural and bad negotiations. The hope and hope was that the deal would look a lot like the 2001 power-sharing deal, but that 2001 deal only lasted a few months and operational changes had to be made. It takes time, maybe even longer than expected, but helpers say they are close. It could be finished as early as Tuesday.
The problem is, we are now seeing some real effects of what this means on the functioning of the Senate. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is technically still chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Monday evening that he would not allow a hearing to take place on Biden’s attorney general candidate Merrick Garland, February 8, because he argued these confirmation hearings for attorney general are usually two days. The Senate impeachment trial begins on February 9. Again, advisers say party leaders are close. We’ll see if it stops on Tuesday.
Keep an eye out for Republicans
The Republican civil war continues Tuesday morning.
We’re watching to see if House Minorities Leader Kevin McCarthy finally meets Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday night and kicks her out of his committees or waits for House Democrats to make that decision.
House Democrats have a scheduled Rules Committee meeting on a resolution to remove it from the budget and education on Wednesday. A reminder that just because they pass the resolution from the rules panel doesn’t mean she has to go to the ground. It’s designed to be a fail-safe to force McCarthy into action.
House Democrats will have a conference call at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday where this issue could arise. There is growing concern that forcing Greene out of committees through a floor vote could set a dangerous precedent for the future if Republicans take back the House and then use the movement to oust Democrats than they do. dislike their committee assignments. Usually, it’s a call from leadership. Giving a vote for the whole House is extremely unusual.
Also on Wednesday, the GOP conference meeting, which is expected to take place in person, will likely be a forum where House Republicans can finally discuss the future of Rep. Liz Cheney. Aides tells CNN that Cheney has phoned and listened to members of her conference for several weeks since she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurgency on Jan.6. The juxtaposition here is striking. Republicans are calling for ousting a member of their leadership for voting on impeachment as many members have remained silent on Greene’s actions and words. If you wanted to know if Republicans moved on from Trump, the only proof you need is this dichotomy. The short answer: they didn’t.
