Meyerson on TAP: Sinema and Manchin Burnish Their Legacy

[Omaha Steve]

FULL story: https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?action=social&chash=2d71b2ae158c7c5912cc0bbde2bb9d95.3081&s=e1bc6afd6789a464804f1eefcf7dec7f

Yesterday, S&M voted to hand the NLRB over to union-busting Republicans.
You might have thought we were done with the dynamic duo of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Joe Manchin (I-WV), whose senatorial careers end later this month. After all, as The Wall Street Journal reported, Sinema had "skipped every vote since November 21," including those on squeaker-close judicial confirmations. (On what basis Sinema draws her salary has long been a mystery.) As for Manchin, when the Senate voted yesterday on the confirmation of President Biden’s nomination of National Labor Relations Board chair Lauren McFerran to another term, he was nowhere to be found until the last minute.

But the redoubtable two—S&M, if you prefer—managed to show up after all to vote against McFerran, and thereby ensure that by one vote she’d be rejected. (The vote was 49 yes, 50 no, with all other Democrats voting yes and all the Republicans, save one who wasn’t there, voting no.) Sinema, who voted for McFerran as recently as 2020, showed up first, which put the measure into a 49-49 tie, which Vice President Harris could have broken in McFerran’s favor. Only then did Manchin rouse himself to race to the floor and vote no.

Based on reporting, it seems that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had expected Manchin to be absent, prepping VP Harris to get over to the Senate to break the tie. But Manchin, who was at a speaking engagement, rushed over first. "The only thing they could do is catch me when I’m not there," he told Semafor.

McFerran was one of the three Democratic appointees on the five-member board. Had she been confirmed for another five-year term, the Democrats would have preserved their board majority until 2026, when another member’s term would end, whom Donald Trump would then replace with a Republican.

FULL story at link above.

[Clouds Passing]

1. More like Sinema and Manchin burn their legacy

DOWN