Supporters of Kamala Harris are pushing back as pressure mounts on the vice president to override the Senate parliamentarian and advance a federal minimum wage increase, viewing this as an unrealistic liberal litmus test that could stunt the proposal’s enactment into law.
“This is more political posturing than it is about getting progress,” said Reecie Colbert, a prominent Harris supporter and founder of BlackWomenViews Media. Forcing the provision into the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion spending bill could imperil the whole package.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled last week that the $15 minimum wage provision does not comply with the terms governing budget reconciliation, a Senate tactic Democrats are using to pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan without requiring Republican votes.
While “disappointed,” Biden “respects the parliamentarian’s decision and the Senate’s process,” his press secretary said at the time, frustrating the Left, which has heaped pressure on the vice president to advance the wage hike regardless.
In an interview this week with WBEZ, Harris called the wage hike “one of my biggest priorities,” while conceding the parliamentarian’s decision will stand.
“We are going to fight for that — we’re not going to give up the fight, even though the parliamentarian said that it can’t stay in our bill, but it is one of my biggest priorities,” Harris said.
As the president of the Senate, in a chamber that’s divided 50-50, Harris can use her constitutional power to override the decision and keep the wage hike in the broader bill. But that would mean defying Biden, a Delaware senator for 36 years, and at least two current Democratic lawmakers.
Colbert, a financial analyst in Washington, D.C., said that resistance by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to overruling the decision make their support unlikely.
With an evenly split Senate, the White House needs every caucus members’ vote to pass the bill with a simple majority.
“The political calculus is absolutely not in their favor,” Colbert said.
Frustration at Harris is misguided, Colbert said.
“If you really were about progress, one, you would be putting pressure on the actual senators who you need to get to 50 votes; two, you’d be putting pressure on Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Whip Dick Durbin to try to get the votes,” Colbert said.
There is also little precedent for a vice president ruling in opposition to the White House.
LIBERALS PRESSURE KAMALA HARRIS TO IGNORE SENATE REFEREE ON MINIMUM WAGE HIKE
“In the 19th century, there were a few times when vice presidents, such as Aaron Burr, George Clinton, and John C. Calhoun and a few others, cast tiebreaking [votes] against a president’s position,” but “such actions were very rare,” said Joel Goldstein, author of The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden. “In practice, they invariably vote the administration line.”
Colbert said those who say it’s possible to “ram through” the bill are risking it unnecessarily as a March 14 expiration date for boosted unemployment aid approaches.
“Their focus is wrong in trying to throw [Harris] under the bus when they haven’t provided the votes. If you come to the table with the 50 votes, then you have every right to pressure,” she said.
Another concern relates to the future Democratic agenda and the need to hold on to every member’s vote, including centrists such as Manchin or Sinema.
“You also don’t throw your allies under the bus,” Colbert said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“At the end of the day, Manchin is more of an ally than he is an enemy, even if he’s not on board with every part of the agenda,” she said. “So they’re taking the hit. That’s what’s called leadership.”
