Democrats are leaving Washington for the holidays having fallen short on a slew of Pres. Biden's top domestic priorities and staring down the barrel of a politically-contentious 2022 in which the balance of power in Congress is up for grabs.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
"The president requested more time to continue his negotiations. So we will keep working with him, hand in hand," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor amid a rare Friday session, acknowledging for the first time that Biden's Build Back Better bill will not come to the floor before the holidays.
Despite ongoing negotiations with Schumer and Biden, Manchin hasn't been persuaded to come off his position. His vote, and that of every Democrat in the Senate, is necessary to both start debate on and pass the final package.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emerges from a Democratic Caucus meeting as the Senate continues to grapple with end-of-year tasks at the Capitol, Dec. 16, 2021.
Other December priorities also fell by the wayside as the Senate spent the month grappling with government funding, a must-pass defense authorization bill and a hike to the federal debt limit. All of these issues had to be attended to before the Senate left, and stalls on each priority ate valuable floor time.Lawmakers will leave Washington this week also failing to address election reform after Republicans mounted a near-unanimous blockade on multiple legislative efforts.
Sinema"continues to support the Senate's 60-vote threshold, to protect the country from repeated radical reversals in federal policy which would cement uncertainty, deepen divisions, and further erode Americans' confidence in our government," her office said in a statement Wednesday.
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