It may be Biden’s nightmare

Against all odds, Democrats won a majority in the Senate when both candidates won reelection in Georgia.

That gives President Joe Biden a huge advantage. But a man can put sticks in the wheels.

– Biden’s challenge is that he will put together a grand coalition with Democrats, US Civita expert and adviser Eirik Løkke tells Dagbladet.

The bidet will be pushed by two edges. Both by radical progressive Democrats, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and by conservative Democrats, like Joe Manchin.

– Many speak of him as the most important senator. You can tilt the result, if you agree with the Republicans, says Løkke.

Conservative

The Senate has great power in the appointment of judges, ministers and in foreign policy. After the Democrats won the Senate elections in Georgia, there is a 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.

If there is a tie, it is Vice President Kamala Harris who decides.

But West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has flirted with the idea of ​​voting against his own party.

In Twitter and the Washington Examiner, he has argued that he is not loyal to the Democratic Party, if they go against issues that are important to him.

– Tragically failed

Manchin was among those who were not positive about the Supreme Court against Donald Trump, and he has also opposed parts of President Barack Obama’s health care reform.

Manchin has previously drawn attention, as he was the only Democrat to applaud Trump’s speech to Congress in February 2019.

At the same time, on budget and legislation, you must have a majority of 60 senators to pass. It has been discussed whether Democrats in the Senate will now vote to abolish the rule, but Manchin has already announced that he will not support such a proposal.

Gather the party

Democrats are internally broader than Republicans. All the Norwegian parliamentary parties, with the partial exception of the FRP, had fitted into the party. To have an impact on politics, Biden must bring all these different voices together.

This is what Republicans and former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can benefit from. Especially if they have Joe Manchin on the team.

– It will be a tug of war, and McConnell knows this game, says Løkke.

– We are ready

These issues will be important, the American expert believes:

• “Green New Deal” climate package. This is important to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and there will be a discussion on the economy here. Løkke believes it will be a tug of war about filling the package with content.
• Health insurance This was an important debate in the primary election, where Biden managed to preserve Obamacare. At the same time, a good number of Democrats are moving more in the direction of Sanders’ alternative: a Scandinavian model.
• One of the first things Biden did was withdraw the permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline. This has created reactions.

– A kind of civil war

Joe Biden takes charge of a deeply divided America and a country in crisis. More than 400,000 people have died from covid-19 and the new president has already drawn up an action plan to deal with the virus.

– After Trump and the division that has arisen, will it be easier for Biden to cooperate with the Republicans?

– Yes, but it depends on which Republicans. They are in a kind of civil war now, with Trump supporters against anti-Trump and the result is somewhat confusing.

This can also happen, Løkke notes:

– We saw under Obama that Republicans are good to unite against something. It could be that Biden gets this role and they use it to cover up disagreements against Trump. They go against Biden instead.