A woman you never heard of determines the fate of $15 minimum wage
Neera Tanden nomination all but sunk
Elizabeth MacDonough.
She has been the Senate Parliamentarian since 2012. Her job is to make rulings on the rules of the chamber. Kind of like a walking Robert’s Rules of Order.
So why does she hold the fate of a $15 Minimum Wage in her hands?
Breaks down likes this:
Democrats don’t want to jeopardize the size or scope of their COVID relief bill so instead of working with the GOP they are using “reconciliation” to pass it.
Reconciliation is a budget maneuver where you only need a simple majority in both chambers to pass it. Democrats have that in the House and Senate.
HOWEVER! Everything in the bill needs to be directly related to the budget, so says the Byrd Rule which guides reconciliation.
So is a roadmap to a $15 Minimum Wage related to the budget enough to satisfy the Byrd Rule? Enter Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian.
If she makes her recommendation tomorrow that it isn’t then the Democrats will use that as an excuse to cut the controversial addition and secure the votes they need from hesitant Dems like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
But if she rules that it IS appropriate then we are going to see exactly how much Manchin and Sinema care to stop this from happening.
Your move, Liz.
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