Democrats now hold an outright majority in the US Senate following incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock’s victory in Georgia over former football player Herschel Walker on Tuesday.
Democrats 51-49 Majority Minuscule but better
Democrats 51-49 Majority Minuscule but better Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, two centrist Democrats, will have less of an impact thanks to the new 51-seat Democratic majority in the US Senate.
Raphael Warnock won Georgia’s runoff election and held his seat, giving Democrats the 51st Senate seat for the 118th Congress.
After nearly two years of power-sharing, Democrats suddenly enjoy majority control.
And, while a 51-49 majority is small, it is still better for Democrats than the scenario they were in the previous two years when they couldn’t afford to lose even one vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York claimed Tuesday to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee that “no senator has a veto.” “Any one of the 50 senators can proclaim that they will not vote on a bill until they obtain one of three things. To show Americans what Democrats stand for, we can act boldly and quickly with 51.”
Even though every senator had legislation due to a 50-50 split, Manchin and Sinema were the most vocal and frequent defectors because they refused to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster required to pass most key bills. The president’s efforts to enshrine Roe v. Wade and other abortion rights, as well as other things like comprehensive voting rights legislation, were thwarted by their rejection.
Former Senate Democratic leadership staffer Jim Manley believes Schumer shouldn’t have to worry as much about what Manchin or Sinema want “in exchange for trying to pass the Democratic agenda” in a 51-seat Senate.
According to Manley, it is hoped that the Democratic leadership will not have to spend all of their time worrying about what Sen. Manchin would do to screw things up.
According to Manley, the resumption of majority rule also means that Schumer will not have to spend another January working out arrangements with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on how things would run. Schumer did this in early 2021.
Walker: Warnock servile to Biden
The animosity grew more intense in the last weeks of the election campaign. Mr. Walker referred to Mr. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia’s state capital, as a “hypocrite” who was servile to President Joe Biden.
Despite being a Democrat, Mr. Warnock has intended to distance himself from Mr. Biden, whose popularity has dropped as US inflation remains high.
Select Democratic committee chairs will be free to reissue subpoenas, and Republicans will be unable to block Biden administration nominations in committee.
Manley added that, while the figure may have only increased slightly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would notice the difference instantly.
Although Republicans recently barely flipped control of the House, President Biden’s party’s new absolute majority in the Senate implies that they will now be in charge of key committees. However, a split government will still exist.
Most importantly, it is yet another indication that America is turning away from Mr. Trump as a political force.
Throughout the campaign, the state’s first black senator, Senate Warnock, emphasized accords on infrastructure and maternity healthcare, as well as a clause he pushed to control insulin costs for those with little means.
According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Warnock’s victory was “against MAGA Republican extremist policies.”
