Gamechanger?
This is a big deal if he means it, but it’s unclear if he means it. Watch the clip below, noting that Chuck Todd asks him specifically about using reconciliation to pass “election-only bills like H.R.1.” That’s the “For the People Act,” Democrats’ massive voting-rights reform bill, their absolute top legislative priority before the midterms. Right now it looks dead on arrival in the Senate because, like all non-budgetary bills, it’s subject to filibuster rules requiring 60 votes for cloture. And there’s no way Democrats will find 10 Republican votes to help them get over that hump. But… what if Dems bent the rules so that even a non-budgetary bill like H.R.1 was subject to reconciliation, exempting it from the filibuster? Because reconciliation procedures are supposed to apply only to budgetary matters, the Senate parliamentarian would surely rule that reconciliation doesn’t apply. But the parliamentarian’s opinion is advisory; it can be overruled by the Senate’s presiding officer. The question is whether Manchin would be willing to vote yes on a bill under those circumstances. Last month he said he wouldn’t, that he’d follow the so-called “Byrd rule” that keeps non-budgetary matters (like raising the minimum wage”) out of bills that are subject to reconciliation. He sounds more ambivalent now, though. Note that Manchin himself never mentions using reconciliation for H.R.1 in the clip. It’s Todd who brings it up. But this would have been a fine opportunity for Manchin to reaffirm his commitment to the Byrd rule — and he conspicuously avoids doing so. Is the Dems’ voting-rights package suddenly viable? WATCH: Sen. Manchin tells @chucktodd, «I’m not going to change my mind on the filibuster.» #MTP@Sen_JoeManchin: «I’ll change my mind if we need to go to a reconciliation… But I’m not going to go there until my Republican friends have the ability to have their say also.» pic.twitter.com/rzDnE18rTA Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 7, 2021 The pressure being put on him by the left to find a way around the filibuster in order to pass H.R.1 is tremendous. They were angry that he wouldn’t budge on it in the name of hiking the minimum wage (although Manchin would have voted no anyway on the bill raising the wage to $15 per hour, preferring an $11 alternative).
