So what needs to change to make that happen? None of the cutesy tactics being tossed around to get discussions going will make a difference. Meadows and Mnuchin on Tuesday floated the possibility of executive action in lieu of a deal. If this is a threat, it’s not one Democrats take seriously; no executive action tinkering around the edges can counteract the pain that would be felt in this country without congressional action. Some senators have suggested that McConnell should get involved by being in the room for the negotiating sessions. McConnell hasn’t been present—in part because he knows that whatever deal is struck won’t be popular with much of his conference, and so he’s kept his hands clean by leaving the task to Democrats and the White House—but that doesn’t mean he’s unaware of what’s being offered and counteroffered. In the room or out, it doesn’t really matter.
The breakthrough, if there is one, will be determined less by tactical choices than by barometric changes in the political atmosphere. The effects of enhanced unemployment benefits ending and the federal eviction moratorium lifting are being felt now and will be felt more with each passing day. This Friday’s jobs report is not expected to be good. Democrats hope that both the administration and vulnerable Senate Republicans will continue feeling the heat until they move to a place where Democrats are willing to meet them. The impasse is breakable. Conditions just haven’t fully ripened.
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