Average Joe: How Manchin could be just days away from losing his Senate power
by Cami Mondeaux, Breaking News Reporter |
December 03, 2022 02:10 PM
Centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) could see their outsize influence over the party wither away after two years of claiming make-it-or-break-it status over the Democrats’ agenda.
Over the last two years, both Manchin and Sinema have acted as gatekeepers of sorts within their own party, often using their votes to negotiate and boost their own priorities in exchange for support on a Democratic bill. Due to the 50-50 split in the Senate, the Democrats couldn’t afford to lose either one of their votes to advance legislation — resulting in drawn-out negotiations or compromises in order to push bills across the finish line.
But with the Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia giving the Democrats a chance to secure a 51-49 majority in the upper chamber, the pair’s control over the party may be coming to an end.
If the Democrats can manage to gain a two-seat majority, along with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, the party would no longer need to rely on courting either Manchin or Sinema for their bills to succeed.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/manchin-sinema-could-lose-senate-power
