U.S. Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 13, 2022 (AFP / SAUL LOEB)
Joe Biden witnessed helplessly Thursday the sinking of his vast electoral reform in Congress, and the blocking by the Supreme Court of a vaccine obligation in business, during a Black Thursday which bluntly exposed the weaknesses of the American president.
“I hope we get there but I’m not sure,” he admitted, visibly tense. He had traveled, which is extremely rare, to the Capitol for a meeting with Democratic senators, devoted to a major law to protect the access of African Americans to the polls.
“If we fail the first time, we can try a second time,” added the 79-year-old Democrat, however.
A little later, another observation of failure, this time by press release: Joe Biden said he was “disappointed” with the decision of the Supreme Court, which blocked its decision to impose either the anti-Covid vaccine or regular tests in companies with more than 100 employees.
The measure, dear to Joe Biden, was denounced as an abuse of power by elected Republican officials. In a country where only 62% of the population is fully vaccinated, the question reveals deep political divides.
The high court, on the other hand, validated the vaccination obligation for employees of health structures that benefit from federal funds.
– Too big promises? –
This succession of bad news erodes a little more the political credit of a president who is already very unpopular and who has perhaps made too big promises, with too little room for maneuver.
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Congress on January 13, 2022 (AFP / SAUL LOEB)
Joe Biden thus promised to protect access to the ballot boxes for minorities and the transparency of voting operations, in the face of a multitude of reforms undertaken by conservative states, in particular in the south of the country.
NGOs assure that these measures adopted by Republicans particularly discriminate once morest African Americans, who overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden in the last election.
To block it, the Democratic president wants to harmonize voting practices and give the federal state a right of scrutiny over local initiatives.
However, it only took two moderate Democratic senators to reduce to nothing or almost all hope of passing this great reform, presented as the heir to the great fights for civil rights of the 1960s.
The United States Supreme Court in Washington on January 11, 2022 (AFP / Stefani Reynolds)
In theory, passing the reform through the Senate would require an increased majority of 60 votes, by virtue of a custom supposed to encourage moderation and dialogue across partisan lines.
However, the Democratic camp has 50 votes plus that of Vice-President Kamala Harris, and the Republicans 50.
Without being able to convince opposition senators, fiercely opposed to the project, the Democrats have only one solution to save their electoral reform: to break this parliamentary practice and to force a simple majority.
– “Hellish Spiral” –
But this maneuver was torpedoed first by Kyrsten Sinema. The senator from Arizona does not want a passage in force which would, according to her, only fuel the “infernal spiral of the division”.
Joe Manchin, another centrist senator who has already single-handedly blocked Joe Biden’s huge $ 1.850 billion social program, told him in a statement that he would not “vote to eliminate or weaken” this rule qualified majority.
The two elected officials are in favor of the reform itself, but have never made a secret of their attachment to the threshold of 60 votes – even in a political landscape polarized as never perhaps, where, following the tumultuous mandate of Donald Trump, the very idea of partisan dialogue seems wishful thinking.
Without their voices, the reform is doomed.
US President Joe Biden in Congress on January 13, 2022 (AFP / SAUL LOEB)
This Black Thursday cruelly reminds Joe Biden that he has very little leeway.
He must deal with a Congress that he does not really control, conservative states in open rebellion on multiple subjects (abortion, voting rights, health strategy …), and a Supreme Court now very conservative, following the appointments made. by Donald Trump.
In a few months, Joe Biden risks losing any majority in Congress in a midterm legislative election. He would then, in fact, be paralyzed until the next presidential election.
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