In the last hours before the vote is over Joe BidenCovid bill, senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, his fellow Democrats had thrown a curveball. He had actually compromised the entire bill by potentially joining Republicans on unemployment benefits.
Manchin seemed unshakable. The White House legislative affairs team could not make him admit. Senator Chuck Schumer from New York, the top Democrat in the chamber, also met with him, but could not let him back, according to two Democrats with knowledge of those discussions. In the end, Manchin and Biden immediately answered the phone twice. The unemployment benefits in the bill were scaled back a few weeks and the bill gained momentum again.
The episode underscores an important dynamic between Schumer and Biden. For decades, the two Democrats have strived to get the jobs they have today: Schumer as the Senate majority leader under a Democratic president, and Biden the president with his party in control of both chambers of Congress.
But now the two Democrats are facing a sometimes unruly and wafer-thin Democratic majority in Congress amid an ongoing global pandemic and a shaky economy. For Biden, successfully achieving his policy goals depends on close coordination with Schumer. For Schumer, working with Biden and going through his agenda could decide how long he will be the majority leader or even if he has to worry about a primary challenge from the left.
While Biden and Schumer have led in very powerful democratic circles and served as second-in-command to party leaders who have maintained strong relationships, their history together is relatively thin for two Democrats who have been active in national politics for decades. They are in good relationships, but they are not besties.
‘Look, are they soul mates? No, ”said a former Obama government official. But is there a lot of respect and affection for each other? Yes. They are quite different people, but I think they are mutual fans of each other. This is not a situation where their kids hang out or go to family barbecues. “
Biden, 78, and Schumer, 71, are pillars of the Democratic Party. Both are known for their love of politics and retail talk. Both come from relatively humble beginnings. Both have served in the Senate for decades. And both have sometimes joined more closely with the more moderate wing of the Democratic party and sometimes with the more liberal wing.
Read more of Daniel Strauss’s report here: Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer – a key relationship to a successful presidency