Analysis: Senate ‘gangs’ show Biden what’s possible, and not
WASHINGTON » It was about more than providing virus aid. Day after day, night after night, the gang of a dozen or so senators met over pizza and Zoom calls, hammering out a framework for a $900 billion-plus COVID-19 virus aid and economic relief package. Their goal was not only to break a stubborn impasse on the pandemic aid, but to show that the old ways of doing business in Washington — in good faith, across party lines, with give-and-take — could still succeed.
Their work interjected fresh momentum toward a year-end deal. The White House jumped in with a new proposal. Congressional leaders showed interest. The gridlock seemed to be breaking.
But problems quickly flared. Details proved vexing. And by week’s end, the lawmakers involved in the bipartisan talks were admitting that the thorniest problem of all — whether companies, schools and others should be protected from virus-related lawsuits — was something they simply couldn’t solve, at least not yet.
Willing, but limited
For President- elect Joe Biden, it’s a clear indication that there are willing partners in Congress for the kind of consensus building he campaigned on. Yet it’s also a cautionary tale just weeks before his inauguration, showing how difficult it will be to govern from the center at a time when members of Congress, and the country at large, find it hard to bridge the gulf between them.
It also showed just how broken Congress, particularly the Senate, has become.
“Everyone’s frustrated,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, DOre., in an interview. “There are senators on both sides that are very frustrated that essentially the Senate has
stopped functioning.”
Biden has a track record of cutting deals in Congress, both as a former senator and as vice president to Barack Obama, and the new White House will be closely watched for its expected overtures to the moderates.
Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is known to buck his party, and newly liberated Republicans freed of Trump and eager to deliver for constituents back home will have great sway in the new year.
Seeking bipartisanship
Because the House and Senate will both have slimmer majorities, that creates opportunities for individual lawmakers to gain power by crossing party lines to tip the vote tally. It also means Biden’s administration will likely be forced to rely on Republicans in the House, if the majority Democrats splinter, and in the Senate, regardless of party control after the Jan. 5 runoff elections in Georgia.
The current COVID “gang” leaders, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, all but extended an invitation to the Biden administration.
“We felt the stakes were simply too high to allow partisan warfare to prevent us from delivering relief,” the two senators wrote in an op-ed announcing the bipartisan framework. “The process, too, can serve as a template for progress on other difficult but vital is
sues in our closely divided Senate.”
Yet, as the last week’s negotiations unfolded, it became clear that party leaders still drive the decision making, the final signatories to any deal.
Thorny issues
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled it was “unlikely” any compromise on the liability issue would be acceptable to Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate.
Aligning with conservative Republicans, McConnell scoffed at “bailouts” for the states — even though some GOP senators would welcome the infusion of cash to pay police, firefighters, public health workers and others back home.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, backed by progressives, rejected the liability shield as unfair to workers who would have little recourse to sue their employers over working conditions during COVID.
“It’s an unconscionable position — no relief for the American people unless corporations receive blanket immunity from lawsuits,” Schumer said.
Washington cleared out for the weekend, hopes dimmed for a sweeping deal before Christmas.
Gangs often emerge in Congress, particularly the Senate, when there’s a vacuum of leadership and lawmakers have pent-up energy to break through the standoffs and find a resolution.