AdvertisementAdvertisementOver the course of four hours Wednesday and Thursday nights, the Democratic presidential candidates will debate for the first time this cycle. That’s both an excruciatingly long time to listen to Democrats and not much time at all, since those four hours will be divided among 20 candidates. The debates, in Miami, will run from 9 to 11 p.m. each night on NBC.The debate lineups, thanks to the Democratic National Committee and its propensity for meddling, . On Wednesday night, the fastest-rising candidate in the field, Elizabeth Warren, will not face off against the...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOver the course of four hours Wednesday and Thursday nights, the Democratic presidential candidates will debate for the first time this cycle. That’s both an excruciatingly long time to listen to Democrats and not much time at all, since those four hours will be divided among 20 candidates. The debates, in Miami, will run from 9 to 11 p.m. each night on NBC.The debate lineups, thanks to the Democratic National Committee and its propensity for meddling, . On Wednesday night, the fastest-rising candidate in the field, Elizabeth Warren, will not face off against the...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementWelcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, your weekly newsletter ranking Washington’s top biters, poopers, sex people, and tax policy questions.Democrats embarked on their quest to reinstate honor to the term “Infrastructure Week” by unveiling a major legislative package to rebuild the country, but some members are concerned that it won’t give doctors in the New Jersey suburbs a tax cut. Chuck Schumer is preparing for another procedural Senate showdown or two, while in the House, Democrats have given up on a controversial election review. At the Transportation...…AdvertisementAdvertisementWelcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, your weekly newsletter ranking Washington’s top biters, poopers, sex people, and tax policy questions.Democrats embarked on their quest to reinstate honor to the term “Infrastructure Week” by unveiling a major legislative package to rebuild the country, but some members are concerned that it won’t give doctors in the New Jersey suburbs a tax cut. Chuck Schumer is preparing for another procedural Senate showdown or two, while in the House, Democrats have given up on a controversial election review. At the Transportation...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementSenate Republicans don’t want to spend the $1.9 trillion on COVID relief that the Biden administration is proposing. None of them. Not Susan Collins, not Lisa Murkowski, not the eight other Republicans to their right that Democrats would need to get 60 votes. They don’t think it’s necessary. Most Senate Republicans haven’t thought broad . Mitch McConnell had to drag the conference into spending $900 billion at the end of 2020 in advance of the Georgia runoffs. Now they’re done.AdvertisementGiven that reality, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are teeing up...…AdvertisementAdvertisementSenate Republicans don’t want to spend the $1.9 trillion on COVID relief that the Biden administration is proposing. None of them. Not Susan Collins, not Lisa Murkowski, not the eight other Republicans to their right that Democrats would need to get 60 votes. They don’t think it’s necessary. Most Senate Republicans haven’t thought broad . Mitch McConnell had to drag the conference into spending $900 billion at the end of 2020 in advance of the Georgia runoffs. Now they’re done.AdvertisementGiven that reality, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are teeing up...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe first of many, many votes expected during the Senate’s consideration of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill began around 11 a.m. Friday, with a vote on the As of 9:11 p.m. Friday night, here’s how many votes the Senate had completed: Zero. The minimum wage vote was still open, and had become theDemocrats were stalling to work out a big, predictable problem known as Joe Manchin.AdvertisementDemocrats had been attempting all week to work out internal disagreements on the bill before it came to the floor. They reached a deal on for direct payments. And on...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe first of many, many votes expected during the Senate’s consideration of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill began around 11 a.m. Friday, with a vote on the As of 9:11 p.m. Friday night, here’s how many votes the Senate had completed: Zero. The minimum wage vote was still open, and had become theDemocrats were stalling to work out a big, predictable problem known as Joe Manchin.AdvertisementDemocrats had been attempting all week to work out internal disagreements on the bill before it came to the floor. They reached a deal on for direct payments. And on...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementDemocrats hoping to increase the minimum wage in their COVID relief bill were handed a crushing defeat Thursday night. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that the increase was not allowed in budget reconciliation legislation, the process Democrats are using to bypass a Senate filibuster on their COVID relief bill.MacDonough’s decision was short and to the point, according to a Senate source. In her view, the budgetary impact of a minimum wage increase was to its nonbudgetary impact. That would make it a violation of the Byrd Rule, the statute...…AdvertisementAdvertisementDemocrats hoping to increase the minimum wage in their COVID relief bill were handed a crushing defeat Thursday night. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that the increase was not allowed in budget reconciliation legislation, the process Democrats are using to bypass a Senate filibuster on their COVID relief bill.MacDonough’s decision was short and to the point, according to a Senate source. In her view, the budgetary impact of a minimum wage increase was to its nonbudgetary impact. That would make it a violation of the Byrd Rule, the statute...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOffice of Management and Budget director nominee Neera Tanden appreciated senators’ concerns about her She regretted calling Mitch McConnell “Voldemort,” and Susan Collins “the worst,” or tweeting that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.” She regretted tweets insinuating that Russians hacked actual voting machines, to Donald Trump’s benefit, in the 2016 election. On the other side, she regretted fighting with profane Bernie Sanders–loving Marxist egg accounts about the prudence of pursuing single-payer health care legislation. She performed this apology...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOffice of Management and Budget director nominee Neera Tanden appreciated senators’ concerns about her She regretted calling Mitch McConnell “Voldemort,” and Susan Collins “the worst,” or tweeting that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.” She regretted tweets insinuating that Russians hacked actual voting machines, to Donald Trump’s benefit, in the 2016 election. On the other side, she regretted fighting with profane Bernie Sanders–loving Marxist egg accounts about the prudence of pursuing single-payer health care legislation. She performed this apology...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe 2016 Nevada Democratic convention . Bernie Sanders state delegates, who’d tried to out-organize Hillary Clinton delegates to eke out a few more spots to the national convention, felt the party establishment had rigged the process against them, just as they felt the party establishment had rigged things a few months earlier. “he state party chair received death threats, and the convention had to be wrapped up abruptly because things had gotten so out of control.* Democratic Party officials worried about whether this would be a prelude to a messy Democratic...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe 2016 Nevada Democratic convention . Bernie Sanders state delegates, who’d tried to out-organize Hillary Clinton delegates to eke out a few more spots to the national convention, felt the party establishment had rigged the process against them, just as they felt the party establishment had rigged things a few months earlier. “he state party chair received death threats, and the convention had to be wrapped up abruptly because things had gotten so out of control.* Democratic Party officials worried about whether this would be a prelude to a messy Democratic...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Thursday afternoon, reporters asked Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin if he could tell them who was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Was it Sen. Lindsey Graham, who had chaired it in the last Congress? Was it Sen. Chuck Grassley, who’s reclaiming his senior Republican status on the committee this Congress? Or was it Durbin, who’s supposed to be the new chairman under the new Democratic majority?Durbin told reporters he wasn’t sure. “We know it could be one of three people,” he said.AdvertisementThe Senate is weird right now. Democrats took the majority at...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Thursday afternoon, reporters asked Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin if he could tell them who was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Was it Sen. Lindsey Graham, who had chaired it in the last Congress? Was it Sen. Chuck Grassley, who’s reclaiming his senior Republican status on the committee this Congress? Or was it Durbin, who’s supposed to be the new chairman under the new Democratic majority?Durbin told reporters he wasn’t sure. “We know it could be one of three people,” he said.AdvertisementThe Senate is weird right now. Democrats took the majority at...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementNear the end of the Georgia Senate runoff debate Sunday night, moderators asked Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was ultimately cleared in her insider trading investigation earlier this year, whether members of Congress should be barred from trading stocks.“Look,” she responded. “What’s at stake here, in this election, is the American Dream.”Loeffler is trying to grind out a win against Rev. Raphael Warnock more on the strength of QAnon than on that of the suburban women whom Gov. Brian Kemp felt she could appeal to when he appointed her earlier this year to the seat left...…AdvertisementAdvertisementNear the end of the Georgia Senate runoff debate Sunday night, moderators asked Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was ultimately cleared in her insider trading investigation earlier this year, whether members of Congress should be barred from trading stocks.“Look,” she responded. “What’s at stake here, in this election, is the American Dream.”Loeffler is trying to grind out a win against Rev. Raphael Warnock more on the strength of QAnon than on that of the suburban women whom Gov. Brian Kemp felt she could appeal to when he appointed her earlier this year to the seat left...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementJeremy Stahl: Hi , Jim. This felt like a story of two conventions to me. The first half was incredibly chintzy, low-rent, and full of too many generic  lines to remember. The last 30–40 minutes or so were about everybody who’s ever worked for or ridden on Amtrak being a close personal friend of Joe Biden, about Bernie Sanders warning that we’re all gonna die if Trump’s reelected, and about Michelle Obama saying roughly the same thing. Basically, the concluding stuff—including Stephen Stills and Billy Porter’s of “For What It’s Worth”—was actually fairly...…AdvertisementAdvertisementJeremy Stahl: Hi , Jim. This felt like a story of two conventions to me. The first half was incredibly chintzy, low-rent, and full of too many generic  lines to remember. The last 30–40 minutes or so were about everybody who’s ever worked for or ridden on Amtrak being a close personal friend of Joe Biden, about Bernie Sanders warning that we’re all gonna die if Trump’s reelected, and about Michelle Obama saying roughly the same thing. Basically, the concluding stuff—including Stephen Stills and Billy Porter’s of “For What It’s Worth”—was actually fairly...WW…