Punchbowl News: “The Senate is beginning to grapple with a new reality. With Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) in the hospital after a stroke, Democrats don’t have a functioning majority. They will be unable to move anything besides non-controversial bills and nominations. As we all know, there are very few of those these days.”

“The longer Luján is out, the more problematic his absence becomes. A lengthy recovery could impact President Joe Biden’s ability to confirm a new Supreme Court nominee. If Luján is sidelined for a long period of time, Biden may have to rethink who he nominates to the Supreme Court.”

The Hill: Lujan stroke jolts 50-50 Senate.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) suffered a stroke last week and underwent surgery but is “expected to make a full recovery,” the Washington Post reports.

There are indications that the Senate Democratic leadership did not know about Lujan’s health problems until today.

Lujan’s office declined to comment when asked by NBC News when they expect the senator could return to work.

In a 50-50 Senate, the health of every senator takes on added importance.

“Here’s what I’m looking for in a Supreme Court justice: Number one, I want a nominee who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog. Number two, I want a nominee who’s not going to try to rewrite the Constitution every other Thursday to advance a woke agenda. Those are my criteria.”

— Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), quoted by Politico.

Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) will serve as a guide for President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee during the Senate confirmation process, the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Jones, who left the Senate in 2021 and was on a short list to serve as Mr. Biden’s attorney general, will be serving as a so-called Senate sherpa for Mr. Biden’s nominee… Sherpas have borrowed their nicknames from people who live in the Himalaya Mountains. They are known for their ability to guide travelers through hazardous terrain, including at high altitudes and in frigid conditions.”

When Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was asked about the Build Back Better Act, he responded: “What Build Back Better bill? I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

When asked if he’s had any talks on the matter since December, he added: “No, no, no, no. It’s dead.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) “hauled in a massive $6.9 million in the final quarter, leaving him with more than $21.5 million on hand,” Politico reports.

“That’s just an insane war chest for someone facing only modest challengers for a reelection bid — but who is building a national network amid possible presidential aspirations.”

Asked if he regretted saying President Biden’s forthcoming pick of a Black woman to the Supreme Court would be an affirmative action choice, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) told reporters: “I’ll let that interview stand.”

“Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had her best fundraising quarter since her election, bringing in nearly $1.6 million in the last three months of 2021 as she positioned herself as one of her party’s high-profile contrarians in the Senate,” Politico reports.

“But underneath that record number is a starker reality for the Arizona Democrat. Sinema is increasingly leaning on corporate PACs and big donations to fill her campaign coffers. The Democratic grassroots fundraising world has largely abandoned her.”

“Bernie Sanders is still encouraging liberal primary challengers to Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. The rest of the Democratic caucus is ready to move on and try to keep hold of their fragile majority,” Politico reports.

“Mere days after their two centrists’ high-profile refusal to change chamber rules in order to pass election reform, Democrats say there’s no more time for infighting in a 50-50 Senate.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told reporters that it’s “far beyond time” for a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Politico reports.

“Sen. Joe Manchin’s reelection campaign raised nearly $300,000 from corporate political action committees and executives days after the conservative Democrat said he would oppose President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending package,” CNBC reports.

“Some of the executives who donated to his campaign also previously contributed to other Republican leaders’ political operations, including former President Donald Trump’s.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) broke with several of his Republican colleagues by seemingly expressing support for President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate the first-ever Black woman to the Supreme Court, Politico reports.

Said Graham: “Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America.”

Graham also appeared to endorse Michelle Childs, a U.S. District Court judge in his home state of South Carolina, for the seat held by the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.

New York Times: “With their bare-minimum 50-seat majority, Democrats will not have that luxury after Mr. Biden nominates the first Black woman for the court sometime in the next few weeks. Considering the toxic partisan atmosphere surrounding contemporary Supreme Court fights, it is conceivable she could make history not only because of her gender and race, but also as the first person elevated to the court by a tiebreaking vote of the vice president.”

“It would be a far cry from the simple voice-vote approval of many of her predecessors as recently as the 1960s. Or the 98-to-0 confirmation of Justice Antonin Scalia, a leading judicial conservative, in 1986. Or even the 87-to-9 vote in 1994 for Justice Stephen G. Breyer, a member of the court’s liberal wing, who announced on Thursday that he would step down after nearly three decades.”

“The decline in consensus Supreme Court confirmations has been precipitous, and the escalation of partisan warfare has been sharp.”