Summary: | And what that says about coming political combat in Washington NEW YORK WHO IS THE most powerful Joe in Washington? That question seems to have an easy answer: Joe Biden, the president. But close on his heels is West Virginia’s senior senator, Joe Manchin. Because Democrats control the senate by the slimmest possible majority, because he is probably the only Democrat who could win a statewide election in West Virginia - which Donald Trump won last year by almost 40 percentage points - and because he is not up for re-election until 2024, Mr Manchin has the clout to pursue an independent line and a political incentive not to stray too far leftward. Mr Biden’s agenda hangs on his vote. Mr Manchin’s opposition to Neera Tanden, Mr Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, effectively quashed her chances. A coal-country native and fossil-fuel advocate, he heads the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and may rein in some of his party’s climate actions. And as Democratic senators worked through the night of March 5th to pass Mr Biden’s covid-19 relief bill, Mr Manchin flexed his muscles. He supported the bill, but only after hours of negotiation, a personal call from the other Joe and a trim of its unemployment benefits. With his vote, the measure passed in a manner that will no doubt grow familiar over the next two years: not a single Democrat voted against it; not a single Republican supported it. Even with the cuts, the bill remains staggeringly ambitious. It includes $1,400 cheques for most Americans (individuals making $75,000 or less and couples making $150,000 or less); $300 in federal unemployment benefits until early September; almost $60bn to develop and distribute vaccines and $49bn to improve testing and tracing; $170bn to help schools reopen by providing protective gear and better ventilation; $25bn for the restaurant industry, which covid-19 has decimated; and $350bn to help state, local and tribal governments... |