U.S. President Joe Biden now likely has several chances to pass parts of his economic agenda without needing any Republican votes, but that doesn’t solve his biggest problem: keeping his own party unified.
Democrats could have at least three more chances in 2021 to pass legislation with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster, thanks to a Monday ruling from Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.
The details of that ruling and what it would mean in practice are still being litigated behind the scenes, but won’t change the basic math governing Washington: Biden needs support of all 50 senators who caucus with Democrats, including West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, who has already expressed some reservations.