United States | Swing voters in the Senate

What are the prospects for bipartisanship?

Senate rules currently work against the cross-party compromise that most Senators say they want to see

Feb 11th 2021|WASHINGTON, DC

WHEN IT COMES to actually passing legislation in Congress, intramural unity among Democrats will matter much more than the bipartisan unity that President Joe Biden seemed to be seeking in the opening days of his administration. As the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump limps to its foregone conclusion in the Senate, Democrats will also be muscling through Mr Biden’s ambitious covid-19 relief package costing $1.9trn unilaterally, using a parliamentary manoeuvre that will require no Republican votes. There is little reason to doubt that the same strategy will be employed to pass the second immediate aim of the Biden administration, an enormous infrastructure package. Parliamentary quirks and partisan incentives mean that conservative Democrats will matter much more to the White House than luring liberal-ish Republicans.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Swing voters”