Congress Takes On the Week From Hell: Updates – New York Magazine

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This week will be the most consequentialon Capitol Hill in a generation. An intra-Democrat rivalryhas meant that Joe Bidens entire economic agenda is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Congress must pass also a new funding bill by Thursday night to avoid a government shutdown. And looming just over the horizon,the U.S. government may be forced to default on its debtsin a few weeks unless lawmakers can agree to raise the so-called debt ceiling.

The tough part is Democrat leaders uniting a fractured caucus with almost no margin of error. They are trying to reach an agreement to pass two bills: A bipartisan infrastructure agreement and Bidens signature Build Back Better Act. If passed, the bill would represent one of the most consequential legislative accomplishments since LBJs Great Society. If it fails, it would represent a humiliating defeat for Biden and a potentially insurmountable setback for his administration.

Heres the latest:

In a 50-50 Senate, any one Democrat can thwartJoe Bidens agenda, and no one has more leash than Joe Manchin, who has managed to win re-election in West Virginia, where Donald Trump won by 40 points last year.

So what Manchin says thus determines what can pass in the Senate and his every utterance is analyzedwith Talmudic intensity. and hes gone back and forth about what he desires. Early this month in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he indicated support for a strategic pause on the reconciliation bill and insisted that he would not support legislation with total budget of $3.5 trillion.

This morning, CNNs Manu Raju caught up with Manchin senatorwho offered yet another ambiguousstatement about the prospects for a reconciliationbill moving forward.

Whatever decision Manchin reaches will have a huge impact on this weeks course of events: Vulnerable Democrats in the House want any reconciliation bill to be blessed by Manchin in advance so that it can pass the Senate.

In the meantime,as Manchin deliberates, he is likely to remain as one of the most consequentialhouseboat residents since Noahs Ark.

Monday: The House Democratic caucus has a 5:30 p.m. meeting to discuss the treacherous path moving forward. Plots will be outlined, feelings will be explored and maybe even something consequential might happen.

At the same time, the Senate will hold a vote to keep the government open as well to prevent it from defaulting on its debts. It is expected to fail due to Republican opposition.

Tuesday-Wednesday:Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria.

Thursday: The federal government will shut down at midnight unless Congress passes a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. It is also the day Pelosi has promised to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill as part of a deal she reached with a group of moderates in August.

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Congress Takes On the Week From Hell: Updates - New York Magazine