Fettered by Fetterman: Sidelined senator presents Democrats with major problem
Cami Mondeaux
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Sen. John Fetterman’s (D) win in Pennsylvania’s Senate race last year gave Democrats an outright majority in the upper chamber after two years of nominal 50-50 control.
Democrats had lost the House in the midterm elections, meaning reconciliation bills such as the Inflation Reduction Act would no longer be possible in the 118th Congress. But the pickup allowed Democrats to scrap a power-sharing agreement with Republicans and run Senate committees on their terms.
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The win even buoyed hopes that stalled Biden nominations would now have the votes to pass.
But just months into the new session, Democrats are without that 51st vote after Fetterman checked into Walter Reed Medical Center to be treated for depression on Feb. 16.
It’s unclear how long Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on the campaign trail and continues to have audio processing problems, will be away. Still, his absence underscores how tenuous the Democrats’ majority remains despite the midterm win. Fetterman’s health problems have brought Vice President Kamala Harris back into the Senate limelight, reprising her role as a tiebreaker on a handful of votes on judicial nominations Tuesday and Wednesday.
Her appearance in the Senate chamber is reminiscent of the 117th Congress when Harris cast 27 tiebreaking votes in the 50-50 chamber. She has already cast 29 as of Wednesday and is just two shy of tying the record for a vice president.
Fetterman’s absence also buoys Republican odds of sending legislation to Biden’s desk, something unheard of when Democrats controlled the lower chamber.
The Senate will vote on a number of Republican-led bills over the coming weeks that are expected to make it through the upper chamber, likely forcing Biden to dole out the first veto of his presidency.
One such bill is a challenge to the Biden administration’s rule that allows fiduciaries to prioritize environmental, social, and corporate governance, known as ESG, when considering investment decisions for retirees. The Senate will vote on that measure Wednesday, and it has already garnered the support of Democrats Joe Manchin (WV) and Jon Tester (MT)
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Meanwhile, the Senate is also poised to pass a bill that would strike down an overhaul of D.C.’s century-old criminal code, which softens the punishment for homicide, robberies, and carjackings. Manchin said he would also join Republicans on that bill, paving the way for the bill to pass the upper chamber with bipartisan support.
Biden has come out against the crime code repeal but has not explicitly threatened a veto. If he decides to shoot down the GOP-led resolution, he could face accusations of being soft on crime ahead of the 2024 elections.