Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have been targeted by the left. They're hated by the left. The left wants them gone for their resistance to the Democrats' radical agenda. They weren't onboard for Build Back Better and its Leninist goodie bag items. They weren't onboard for nuking the filibuster over their party's shoddy attempt to pass a federal election takeover bill. They're not to blame. They're rational. They're sane. It's the rest of their party that belongs in the looney bin. Sinema might face a primary challenge, but Manchin won't. West Virginia is deep red. Biden didn't win a single county, and Trump won the state by some 41 points. Manchin's opposition to Build Back Better probably brought him much needed dividends.
Yet, for the rest of the winter, nothing much is probably going to get done. Yes, Manchin has said that Build Back Better is "dead" and not coming back. He did crush those Democratic hopes, but there's also another factor. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) recently suffered a stroke and will be out of commission for the next four-to-six weeks (via CNBC):
New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan is expected to return to Congress next month after suffering a stroke last week and undergoing brain surgery, a senior aide to the senator told CNBC on Wednesday.
Lujan, a 49-year-old Democrat who was sworn into the Senate last year, is currently hospitalized in Albuquerque following decompressive surgery to ease swelling after suffering a stroke in his cerebellum, his office said Tuesday.
The senator first began feeling dizzy and fatigued early Thursday morning, five days before his current condition was revealed. He is “resting comfortably, and expected to make a full recovery,” his chief of staff, Carlos Sanchez, said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.
Lujan is expecting to return to the Senate in four to six weeks, barring any additional medical complications, the senior aide said.
He's going to be fine, which is a good thing. The bad news, if you're Chuck Schumer, is that any bill where it's split 50-50 will have to be postponed. Nothing crazy will be voted upon with Lujan in recovery, as remote voting is not permitted.
1) Fox confirms that Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) is expected to be out 4-6 weeks after suffering stroke
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 2, 2022
There is no remote voting in the Senate. So, this could put on ice any 50-50 measure in a divided Senate.
2) It also means that any effort to rekindle Build Back Better is dead until at least the middle of March. Not that it was going anywhere quickly.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 2, 2022
We are told that a floor vote on a Supreme Court Justice could come in the spring sometime.
3) As we always say, everything on Capitol Hill hinges on three things: It’s about the math. It’s about the math. It’s about the math.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 2, 2022
So, the left can't use Sinema-Manchin as a punching bag for the next few weeks. Okay, maybe they can because they're a bunch of crybabies, but on legislation, nothing is going to happen.