Bob Dole used to say the most dangerous place in Washington was somewhere between Chuck Schumer and a microphone, but it turns out the most dangerous place for the Senate Majority Leader is between Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders.
The Senate came back this week after the August recess, and it has a ton of work they need to finish before they head out on the campaign trail.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to have a vote on the Respect for Marriage Act to codify same-sex marriage soon. In addition, they have to pass a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown – which would be a political disaster before an election.
On top of that, there might be another Democratic feud boiling over.
As part of their agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act (remember that?), Mr Schumer and Mr Manchin agreed to also pass legislation to streamline the permitting process for new energy projects and to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a gas pipeline in Virginia and Mr Manchin’s home state of West Virginia, a top priority.
Permitting did not fit the parameters to be included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats passed through budget reconciliation on a party-line vote. That means permitting reform needs 60 votes to pass.
So far, the White House is sticking by its pledge to Mr Manchin (how much do you want to bet President Joe Biden gave the man he calls “Jojo” his “word as a Biden?”).
“We think it's important to meet the country's clean energy goals and to reduce cost and to promote energy security,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her daily briefing on Thursday. “Permitting always delays a new solar and new wind projects are among the longest in our–in our country.”
Friend of the newsletter Rachel Frazin of The Hill reported on Wednesday that Mr Manchin said “permitting is in,” a stopgap spending bill known as a continuing resolution said that Senate Democratic leadership told him as much.
Everybody’s happy right? Democrats got the Inflation Reduction Act? Mr Manchin gets his pipeline and Democrats live happily ever after and get ready for the midterms?
Not quite. The deal angered some progressives such as Raúl Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who worries it would be a giveaway to the energy industry.
All of that pales in comparison to the concerns raised by Mr Sanders, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman. Some might remember that ahead of the vote on the IRA that he complained it was insufficient.
On Thursday, Mr Sanders excoriated the permitting deal and the Mountain Valley Pipeline in a speech on the Senate floor.
“At a time when climate change is threatening the very existence of the planet, why would anybody be talking about substantially increasing carbon emissions and expanding fossil fuel production in the United States,” he said. “What kind of message does this send to the people of our own country and to suffering people all over the world?”
Mr Sanders’s opposition puts the stopgap spending bill in serious jeopardy. If he plants his flag and votes against it, other members of the Democratic caucus might be compelled to oppose it and Mr Schumer and Mr Manchin would need to put together a hodgepodge group of Democrats and Republicans to keep the government open before the elections.
