The constantly shrinking Democratic agenda

An update on unionization: Congressional staff will present petitions with Congressional Office of Workplace Rights today to create unions in eight home officesa member of Congress Workers Union Early said on condition of anonymity.

The move clears the way for Hill staffers to begin negotiating salaries, promotion policies and paid and sick leave with Democrats. Rep. Andy Levin (Mich.), Ro Khanna (California), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Cory Bush (Mo.), Melanie Ann Stansbury (NM), Ted Lieu (Calif.) and Chuy Garcia (Sick). The House cleared the way for individual offices to join unions in a vote on the House floor earlier this year after efforts gained momentum when employees complained anonymously about their bosses and working conditions through a viral account on Instagram.

The ever-shrinking democratic agenda

Democrats have repeatedly gone through four of the five stages of grief over and over again: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression.

Now, less than 24 hours later Sen. Joe Manchin III (DW.Va.) torpedoed the last remaining vestiges of Democrats’ once expansive Build Back Better Act and said he would only support a bill designed to lower drug prices and provide health care subsidies, they are finally approaching the last stage: acceptance.

President Biden cut short his trip to the Middle East on Friday to urge Democrats to take up the deal. “The Senate should go ahead and pass it before the August recess and bring it to my desk so I can sign it,” he said in the statement.

It was the opposite of the approach Biden took last year when Manchin offered to support an up to $1.8 trillion version of the bill that contained many more Democratic priorities. The White House tried to squeeze more out of him, only for Manchin to walk away from the negotiations in December.

But with the midterms less than four months away, Democrats, who hold the slimmest of majorities, are tempering their ambitions as they face losing unified control of the government.

“I’m absolutely outraged about what just happened, but that’s no reason to punish people who need cheaper prescription drugs.” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) Early said. “Let us pass quickly what can be passed with moral and political clarity.”

“Obviously we have to get as much done as we can in the time we have to do it.” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in an interview.

Democrats have had to scale back their grand ambitions repeatedly in 18 months they have controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. The most ambitious version of their agenda is dead and now they have to decide what little pieces can be salvaged. Prescription drugs instead of a cradle-to-grave expansion of social and economic programs. Amendments to the Electoral College law instead of repealing the new voting laws. And a watered-down bill for computer chips instead of a larger industrial policy proposal aimed at China.

Here’s where things stand as Democrats head into a crucial week for what’s left of their agenda.

The original estimate for a comprehensive social safety net, climate change and tax reform was about $4 trillion. It was reduced dramatically when Manchin told Schumer last summer that he could support less than half of that. After painful negotiations, Manchin walked away from that deal just before Christmas. Now, a bill that would raise nearly $1 trillion for climate initiatives, deficit reduction and prescription drug cost reductions has been scaled back.

Status Update: Senate Democrats are preparing to move forward with the prescription drug component and bring it to the Senate floor Thursday to ensure it meets Senate budget reconciliation rules that allow the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority.

However, Democrats must decide whether to accept the watered-down version. They will discuss the issue at a group meeting this week and decide on a way forward.

Democrats are preparing to break off bicameral negotiations to pass a bill to strengthen supply chains and help the US compete with China. Instead, Democrats will try to move the parts of the bill with the most support, including subsidies for domestic production of microchips and tax credits for building or upgrading semiconductor factories.

Status Update: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will try to move the process forward in the Senate as early as Tuesday, forcing Republicans to decide whether to support the proposal.

Her. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), posted on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, Manchin’s refusal to vote on the climate provisions and tax hikes included in Build Back Better “will continue with the green light that will continue this week to shore up the dangerous vulnerability of the US semiconductor supply chain advanced”.

A bipartisan group of senators is preparing to soon unveil legislation to clarify the Electoral College Act — the 1887 law that governs the certification of presidential election results. Ex president Donald Trump and his allies tried to exploit loopholes in the law after the 2020 elections to allow him to stay in power. Compromise legislation from a bipartisan group led by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Manchin is a far cry from Democrats’ sweeping voting rights bill that would increase access to the polls, overhaul campaign finance laws and include other policies to make it more easy voting. But that bill was blocked by Senate Republicans in January.

Some Democrats are ready to move forward with scaled back policies after negotiations ended in disappointment so many times over the past year. It’s better to campaign for something than nothing the theory goes.

“I personally think we should only put wins on the table, no matter how big or incremental it is,” a moderate House Democrat told The Early on Sunday.

Still, many Democrats are angry that their plans for major policy changes have been stymied again. Many blame Manchin for wrecking Build Back Better and refusing to change Senate rules — anger that is sometimes directed at even moderates. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)

“If you check the record, six months ago I made it clear that you have people like Manchin, Sinema on a smaller scale, who are deliberately sabotaging the president’s agenda, what the American people, what most of us want in the democratic group. . Nothing new about that.” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on A B CSunday “This Week”.

Also this week: a continued focus on gun violence

As we went to bed Sunday night, news broke of another shooting in a public place where many people were killed. This time there were three people, not including the gunman, at a mall in Indiana.

Despite Congress passing significant but incremental gun legislation last month, the House and Senate are holding a number of hearings as Democrats want to go much further.

of House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will score one ban on assault weapons on Wednesday, as we reported Friday, setting up a possible floor vote later this month.

Three arms manufacturers have been invited to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committeeincluding Marty DanielCEO of Daniel’s defense, the manufacturer of the gun used in the Uvalde shooting, which has been heavily criticized for the company’s marketing tactics. The committee is looking into the profits and business of arms manufacturers.

of Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Ill., which the commission’s chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), represents. And two-room Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing on the economic toll of gun violence.

Pence backs Arizona gubernatorial race, splits from Trump-backed candidate

Seeing red: “The former vice president Mike Pence is endorsing Arizona’s gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robsona developer who has long been involved in Republican politics, rather than the former president Donald Trumpselected candidate, Lake Karia former TV presenter who continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’.” our colleagues. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez AND Hannah Knowles report.

• “The approval illustrates the division in the party between Trump supporters who value loyalty to him above all else and those who want to avoid the endless litigation of the 2020 election, including those who are grateful that Pence and other Republicans blocked Trump’s efforts to overturn the results .
• “Trump and Pence, who are each considering running for president in 2024, both plan to be in Arizona on Friday to campaign for their chosen candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary.

Jury selection for Steve Bannon begins today

Happening today: “Jury selection is set to begin [this] morning in the federal court of Stephen K. Bannonformer Trump adviser and right-wing podcaster charged with two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a Jan. 6 House committee order to turn over records and testify about his actions before attack on the US Capitol,” our colleague Spencer Hsu reports.

• “The trial is likely to be short,” our colleague Devlin Barrett and Spencer wrote over the weekend. “Prosecutors say their case will last a day, and given the judge’s restrictions on which witnesses Bannon can call and what issues he can raise, it’s unclear how long Bannon’s case itself might last, or if he will testify.”

Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at the NAACP’s 113th national convention in Atlantic City, N.J. She will host a roundtable discussion with New Jersey state legislators on abortion rights following her keynote address.

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