The early ambitions of Joe Biden’s presidency are quickly running into the guardrails of archaic Senate rules, testing his willingness to remake an institution he reveres to fulfill many of the promises he has made to Americans. It’s a wonky, Washington dilemma with real-world implications for millions of people, determining everything from the future of a minimum wage hike to voting access. It will also shape Biden’s ability to keep two restive wings of the Democratic Party united: swing state moderates wary of the appearance of effectively giving up on bipartisanship and more progressive Democrats who argue that Republicans aren’t coming along anyway. Biden — who spent four decades as a senator and speaks of the institution with veneration, as well as some revisionist history about the good old days of cross-party cooperation — is so far trying to find the middle ground. Liberal Democrats applauded his willingness to go it alone on a sprawling, $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan, embracing an option known as budget reconciliation that allows certain legislation to pass with a simple majority — in other words, without any Republican votes. But that pathway comes with limitations, including strict rules on what can and can’t be included in a bill. On Thursday, the Senate’s parliamentarian decreed that a $15 minimum wage provision was out of bounds, prompting some Democrats to call on Biden to push the boundaries again and overrule her decision. The White House said that won’t happen, citing the president’s respect for “the Senate’s process.” Ultimately, the COVID-19 relief bill was approved by the House by 219-212 early Saturday and will almost certainly pass Congress, even if some Democrats gripe about losing the minimum wage increase. But the road ahead for Biden only gets more treacherous given Democrats’ slim majorities in the House and the Senate and little sign of Republican interest in tackling climate change legislation, an immigration overhaul or election reforms. Those measures mostly fall outside the reconciliation rules, meaning Biden either needs to find a way to bring centrist GOP senators along or blow up what’s known as the filibuster, which would clear the way for all legislation to pass with 51 votes. To some Democrats, taking that step amounts to accepting the reality of what Republicans are, and are not, willing to give Biden. “Democrats made a lot of promises in winning the House, the Senate and the White House,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a progressive who has advocated for blasting through some long-standing congressional rules. “So we’re going to have to make a choice here. Are we going to stick to these rules, or are we actually going to use the levers of government to work for the people? To me, that’s not radical — that’s governing.” Biden, who pitched himself to voters as a candidate who could overcome Washington’s hyperpartisanship, has so far suggested he’s inclined to play by the rules and court moderate Republicans who may be willing to work with him. But the math gets tricky fast. With the Senate split 50-50, Biden would need 10 Republicans to join him to pass major legislation. Yet every move he might make to the center to win a GOP vote could put at risk the support of liberal senators. Matt Bennett, the executive director of Third Way, […]

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