Democrats were caught by surprise by their takeover of the Senate and find themselves unprepared for their total control of Washington.
Politico said Democrats were left flat-footed by the victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the Senate runoffs in Georgia.
Vice President Kamala Harris swore in the two senators on Wednesday, giving Democrats control of the Senate, CNN noted.
Now the lack of preparation for controlling the White House, Senate, and House is sparking confusion among Democrat lawmakers, according to Politico.
The website noted that aside from addressing the pandemic, Democrats can’t seem to agree on what to do next.
Sources say President Joe Biden’s top targets will be a COVID-19 package and an infrastructure bill. But Democrat lawmakers are also talking about criminal justice and police reforms, along with proposals designed to clean up elections.
And they maintained no clear agenda has been presented to them by the new administration. And Democrat lawmakers can’t seem to agree on how to push the president’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package through.
Biden aides had been working out plans to use the fast-track “reconciliation” process to push it through on a party-line vote, Politico noted. But senior Democrats are expressing frustration because Biden wants to win over some Republicans first.
And now there is even discussion of another proposal making its way in the House. This one — a narrower proposal — would provide $1,400 stimulus checks and vaccine distribution assistance. But the proposal is running into resistance from some in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate will soon be faced with conducting Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.