American Democrats were worried on Wednesday February 2 about the future of many of President Biden’s reforms, the stroke of an elected official temporarily depriving his camp of the very slim majority he has in the Senate.
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At an all-time low in the polls, Joe Biden badly needs a win to revive his presidency ahead of November’s midterm elections. But many of the reforms the president is championing — from his grand social and environmental plan to appointing a new Supreme Court justice — are far from unanimous in an ultra-polarized Congress.
Since January 2021, the US Senate has been perfectly divided, with the Democratic and Republican camps each having 50 votes. That of Vice-President Kamala Harris is then used to decide between the debates, in favor of the Biden camp. But the entourage of a Democratic senator announced on Tuesday evening that the latter was hospitalized due to a stroke, temporarily depriving the Biden camp of its very narrow majority.
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Ben Lujan, 49, should “recover completely”said his team, who later added that, without complications, he should be back to work within “four to six weeks”. Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer paid tribute to him on Wednesday, hailing “one of the most beloved members of the Senate” and saying they have “hope and optimism” that the senator from New Mexico get back on his feet without delay.
In the meantime, he assured, “The Senate will continue to move forward and work on behalf of the American people.” Joe Biden’s spokeswoman meanwhile stressed that life is “precious” and swept away any new political strategy to advance the Democratic leader’s reforms without a majority. “We spend most of our time discussing the president’s program in good faith”promised Jen Psaki. “And not to make these kinds of calculations.”