Punchbowl News: “Overall, this Democratic budget agreement allows for $4.1 trillion in new spending when combined with the bipartisan infrastructure deal. This is a stunning total, and it comes on top of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan already passed by Congress in March. Republicans will strongly oppose it, and there will be GOP lawmakers skeptical of supporting the bipartisan infrastructure deal because the budget total is so high, as we pointed out Tuesday morning.”
“The issue then becomes, of course, whether Biden, Schumer and party leaders can keep all 50 Senate Democrats in line for the budget deal. This is where Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and other moderates will have the final say.”
Playbook: “With no votes to spare in the Senate and only four in the House (soon to be three, with Republicans expected to win a runoff in Texas), President Joe Biden heads to the Senate today to begin the hard work of whipping the party in line behind the Democrat-only deal. He got a head start when Budget Chair Bernie Sanders endorsed the deal, even as the Vermont independent spent much of the first part of the Democrats’ presser looking at his shoes.”
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