In the last hours before the vote on Joe BidenCovid Relief Project, Senator Joe Manchin West Virginia had thrown his fellow Democrats into a curved ball. He had effectively put the entire bill at risk by possibly joining Republicans in unemployment benefits.
Manchin looked immobile. White House Legislative Affairs Team could not make him give in. Senator Chuck Schumer from New York, the main Democrat in the House, also met with him, but was unable to get him to budge, according to two Democrats with knowledge of these discussions. Finally, Manchin and Biden spoke directly on the phone, twice. Unemployment benefits in the bill were reduced in a few weeks and the bill gained momentum again.
The episode highlights an important dynamic between Schumer and Biden. For decades, the two Democrats have been struggling to get the jobs they now occupy – Schumer as a Senate majority leader under a Democratic president and Biden as president with his party in control of both chambers of Congress.
But now the two Democrats have to contend with a Democratic majority that is sometimes undisciplined and as thin as a razor in Congress amid a continuing global pandemic and an oscillating economy. For Biden, the successful fulfillment of his policy objectives depends on close coordination with Schumer. For Schumer, working with Biden and driving his agenda can decide how long he will be the leader of the majority or even whether he will have to worry about a primary challenge from the left.
Although Biden and Schumer ran in very powerful Democratic circles and served as second in command for party leaders who fostered strong relationships, their history together is comparatively tenuous for two Democrats who have been in national politics for decades. They have a good relationship, but they are not best friends.
“Look, are they close friends? No, ”said a former Obama administration official. “But is there so much respect and affection for each other? yea. They are very different people, but I think they are fans of each other. This is not a situation where your children go out or go for family barbecues. “
Biden, 78, and Schumer, 71, are the pillars of the Democratic Party. Both are known for their love of politics and retail conversation. Both come from relatively humble backgrounds. Both spent decades in the Senate. And both have at times aligned themselves more closely with the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party and at other times with the more liberal wing.
Read more about Daniel Strauss’ report here: Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer – a key relationship for a successful presidency