ANALYSIS — Lawmakers return next week for a busy June, with Senate Republicans tested by politically wrought gun talks and President Joe Biden dealing with a spate of crises and headaches.
As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sends coded messages to his negotiators (Listen for: “mental illness” and “school security,” not actual restrictions to gun access), Biden also is rolling the dice on his economic message. McConnell is more likely to get his desired results on the guns debate and in convincing voters — who already give Biden low marks on the economy — that Republicans should run Congress come January.
Those realities and challenges are reflected in the power rankings below — a look at the current most influential people in and around Washington — which will be a regular feature in the subscription-only CQ Senate newsletter.
