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The two leaders met for about half an hour on Tuesday in McConnell’s office, on his last day as majority leader. There was no apparent resolution afterwards; Schumer told reporters that “we have discussed many issues.” Schumer declined to comment on the future of legislative filibuster, but a spokesperson threw cold water when addressing it in an organizational resolution.
“Chief Schumer has said the fairest, most reasonable and easiest way forward is to pass the 2001 bipartisan agreement without superficial changes on either side,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said Schumer and McConnell had made progress in confirming Biden’s candidates and holding a “fair impeachment trial” for incumbent President Donald Trump.
McConnell spokesman Doug Andres said later Tuesday evening in a statement that “McConnell expressed his long-held view that the Senate’s crucial, long-standing, bipartisan rules regarding legislative obstruction remain intact, especially during the power sharing for the next two years. Discussions on all aspects of the power-sharing agreement will continue over the next few days. “
It could be days before there is a resolution between Schumer and McConnell on how the Senate works. And a prolonged standoff will lead to a bizarre Senate stasis where it will take the agreement of 100 senators to do a lot, especially to confirm Biden’s cabinet.
Republicans will even still control majorities in some committees, since new senators have not been added to those groups and the two leaders have not established committee ratios. All of that could change with the unanimous consent of senators or agreement of both leaders.
In his letter to GOP colleagues, McConnell said he hoped the House would wait until at least Thursday to send the impeachment articles from Trump’s trial to the Senate to allow for Wednesday’s inauguration without the trial darkening it. . He also said his party would resume in-person lunches next week. The letter was first reported by National Review.
Schumer will officially become the majority leader Wednesday afternoon, with an effective majority of 51-50 after his new Democratic senators are sworn in and Kamala Harris becomes vice president and tiebreaker in the Senate, a source close to. of the calendar.
Schumer told reporters earlier Tuesday that “we hope we can come to an agreement” with McConnell. McConnell is currently the majority leader and will always wield a major influence over the agenda of new President Joe Biden, especially as long as the legislative obstruction continues.
“They are both pragmatic in that they have to get there for us to move forward. I think they will. I don’t have a feeling McConnell is going to last for weeks or anything like that, ”said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.), who attends GOP leadership meetings with McConnell.
“Given what we’ve been through as a country: a pandemic and an attempted coup, this relationship just has to work,” added Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who helps lead the party whip operation. “The normal political calculation of maximizing the advantage in the next election must be put aside.”
But filibuster could be a big challenge. Schumer would relinquish much of his influence early on if he gave in to McConnell’s hopes of devoting official protections for the supermajority requirement.
Currently, most laws require 60 votes, which means at least 10 Republicans should work with Democrats on most bills. If Democrats are frustrated with a McConnell-led blockade, Schumer could in theory get all of his members to get rid of the rule with a vice-presidential tie-break.
Some Democrats have said they will not vote to change the rules, although Republicans may want an unwavering commitment. Democrats would view any deal on preserving filibuster as a departure from the precedent of operating an equally divided Senate.
Schumer (DN.Y.) and McConnell (R-Ky.) Are largely expected to lead the Senate in the same way former Senate leaders Trent Lott and Tom Daschle devised the last 50- plan. 50 in 2001. This allowed the creation of a committee. memberships must be evenly distributed, bills which receive tie votes going to the prosecution; the party controlling the White House would still set the Senate timetable and determine what legislation would be passed.
But there is so much to negotiate this time around beyond just Senate operations. Among the unanswered questions: when will President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial begin and how long will it last?
President Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have been tight-lipped about the planning of the trial, including when they plan to forward the impeachment article to the Senate. Democratic aides have said they don’t expect an announcement until Thursday at the earliest, unwilling to distract from Wednesday’s inauguration. Democrats also said the timing of the trial was determined more by the power-sharing deal reached by Schumer and McConnell than by the House’s transmission of the article.
It is also unclear whether Biden gets confirmation of any of his Cabinet candidates before or during the trial, although Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Has said he will prevent the Homeland Security chief of Biden to be confirmed on Wednesday. And Democrats are also eager to see if Republicans will work with them on a Covid-19 relief package before they decide to move unilaterally.
“Obviously, there is a lot of suspicion and doubt on our side given the history of McConnell in the minority under the Obama administration. Lots of reasons for skepticism and cynicism, ”said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “This should be a time of reset for all of us. Not just Schumer and McConnell. “
Grassroots senators were largely unaware of how close – or far – the two leaders were to reaching agreement on all of these critical points. Schumer said bluntly: “We have three things to do quickly, impeachment, appointment, Covid.”
In a Senate speech Tuesday afternoon, McConnell said “the American people’s marching orders are clear. We must have a vigorous discussion and seek common ground.”
And senators are eager to see how it all plays out at a historic moment, with an incumbent president’s impeachment trial set to begin amid a devastating pandemic and an evenly divided upper house.
“It’s going to be interesting. We’ll just have to wait and see. People are excited to start, ”said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Who was among eight Republicans who opposed the certification of Biden Electoral College victory in two states hours after the pro-Trump riot. “Everyone is excited to put everything behind us and move forward.”
Heather Caygle and Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.
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