Public Policy Network

The first vote of the 118th Congress, for Speaker of the House, made it immediately clear that slim majorities are going to make things difficult. Small groups within and across parties will have outsized influence on nearly every vote—impacting important legislation—over the next two years. 

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The midterm elections have produced results reminiscent of 2020 – narrow majorities and another runoff in Georgia. However, the dynamics have shifted as Republicans gained control of the House with a slim seven seat majority with two seats remaining to be called.

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With just days remaining until August recess, Congressional Democrats had largely given up on passing any major legislation. So, the announcement of a deal between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin surprised nearly everyone. 

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Congress started 2022 with a long list of difficult policy items including those related to pandemic recovery and high inflation. Unexpected items, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a vacancy on the Supreme Court, quickly changed the focus.

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The start of the new year brings an increased focus on the midterm elections as primary ballot deadlines loom. For many elected officials, the primary election is their biggest hurdle as they face opposition from within their own party. This creates increased urgency for Democrats to pass President Biden’s major legislative priorities, but narrow majorities continue to hamper that effort.

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Negotiations among House and Senate Democrats on the budget reconciliation bill have stretched on for another month despite hopes that a deal was within reach. Urgency to pass large portions of President Biden’s domestic agenda continues to increase as limited legislative days remain until the new year brings increased focus on the elections.

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Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate had planned for a perfectly choreographed path to pass President Biden’s legislative agenda, anticipating some obstacles along the way. However, instead of obstacles they have run into many significant roadblocks from both the moderates and progressives within the Democratic Party.

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Many Democrats in Congress are frustrated by the months-long, bi-partisan infrastructure negotiations that seem to have made little progress. With control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress, the party has a growing sense of urgency to move President Biden's agenda forward before the mid-term elections.

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