MANCHIN MEETS THE DEM CAUCUS — Senate Democrats held a virtual meeting Tuesday night, their first get-together since the Sunday meltdown. And yes, JOE MANCHIN logged on.
Manchin and Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER essentially repeated what they’ve been saying in other venues this week: The West Virginian has concerns about inflation and the debt and wants higher taxes on the rich, while Schumer outlined his new road map to pass Build Back Better and voting rights legislation.
— BBB: Schumer said he was pressing ahead with a vote in January as a way to build pressure for a deal. In his remarks, Schumer alluded to Manchin scuttling the legislation, telling colleagues, per a Democratic source, “I know we are all frustrated at this outcome. However, we are not giving up on BBB. Period. We won’t stop working on it until we pass a bill.”
He also pushed back on Manchin’s argument, in a radio interview Monday, that Democrats should start from scratch through the committee system, noting that BBB has been the subject of over 60 Senate hearings.
And the Democratic leader responded to Manchin’s concerns about inflation and the national debt, citing recent reports from Goldman Sachs and Moody’s that forecast reduced growth absent passage of BBB.
As for the procedural details of the way forward, here’s what Schumer said: “In the new year, we will have a vote on the motion to proceed to the House-passed bill. The House-passed bill is the legislative vehicle available to us to begin the reconciliation debate in the Senate. At this time, it is my intention to make the Senate substitute amendment the current Senate text as published and shared with your offices, unless we are able to reach an agreement on modifications acceptable to the entire caucus ahead of that vote.”
— Voting rights: Schumer vowed to force votes on reforming Senate rules if the GOP blocked the legislation again in January, which is certain to happen. He said that at the state level Republicans are passing “voter suppression laws” with “only a simple majority vote” and it was unacceptable to “not allow the United States Senate to do the same.”
This is all very similar to what Schumer announced in his recent Dear Colleague letter. But for the first time since Manchin blew up everything, we are hearing some notes of optimism from Democratic senators.
For example, after the call, Sen. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-Md.) told Playbook, “Feeling confident that we will find a way to move forward on a revised version of our plan to expand opportunity for every American, cut the cost of prescription drugs and child care, and tackle the climate crisis.”
— President JOE BIDEN is also projecting optimism: He came away from his talk with the other Joe on Sunday night feeling good that some type of deal will come together early next year: “Some people think maybe I’m not Irish because I don’t hold a grudge. But I want to get things done,” Biden said Tuesday, adding: “Sen. Manchin and I are going to get something done.” More on Biden’s optimism from WSJ’s Ken Thomas
— Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL is apparently still open to … something. She actually spoke with Manchin on Tuesday, per WaPo’s Greg Sargent, who interviewed the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Jayapal (D-Wash.) “did seem to open the door to a way forward, though it’s a twisted and murky path.” The path, which you can read the piece to try to understand, basically involves getting Manchin to say exactly what he wants and going from there.
