West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin brought the US Senate to a standstill on Friday over a policy dispute that threatened to upend President Joe Biden's top agenda item -- a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill — and prompted a furious lobbying effort behind the scenes after Democrats thought they had party unity.
Yet that sweetener only soured Manchin, who had not signed off on the deal before it was announced, prompting a frantic scramble behind the scenes to secure his support after he balked at the proposal. In the end, Manchin also secured a deal where the jobless benefits will expire roughly a month earlier than they would have under the deal cut Friday morning. Under that agreement, benefits would have been extended through September.
The long series of amendment votes, known as a vote-a-rama, is a Senate tradition that the minority party uses to put members of the majority on the record on controversial issues in an effort to make changes to a bill that they oppose. The measure failed with the gavel finally going down on the first amendment vote of the vote-a-rama, 11 hours and 50 minutes after it began, making it the longest roll call vote in recent Senate history. The Democratic negotiations over the unemployment benefits had held up the marathon vote series, keeping the vote open for an extended period of time.
Manchin also voted for the GOP proposal, but the Democrats' alternative plan, which was adopted early Saturday morning, will supersede the Portman amendment.The Senate's effort to pass the $1.9 trillion legislation kicked into high gear Thursday when senators voted to open debate, and in a sign of just how thin Democrats' majority is, Harris broke the tie advancing the bill.
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