Thread by @JakeSherman

☀️>@PunchbowlNews AM: What's at stake this week

Big news everyone: Legislating is about to happen again. Congress comes back from recess, and President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda is about to face a crucial few weeks.

The $1.9-trillion Covid relief package is expected on the House floor this week. In order to stay on track, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House needs to get it through the chamber quickly. The House Budget Committee takes it up today. The bill will get a full House vote later in the wk

We bet the vote is Saturday because it’s Congress and 2021.

Pressure: @SenSanders put out a statement Saturday saying he was “confident” that the Senate parliamentarian would rule raising minimum wage is permissible in a reconciliation package.

Sanders noted that the parliamentarian previously ruled that drilling in ANWR and repealing the individual mandate to buy health insurance were permissible, so certainly raising the minimum wage should be as well.

There are two ways to read this: Sanders is actually confident that the parliamentarian will rule this way, or Sanders is trying to exert public pressure to ramp up the stakes on Elizabeth MacDonough, the parliamentarian.

Nancy Pelosi: For @SpeakerPelosi , this is like the NBA Finals -- she has 7 days to get a Covid relief package through a chamber w a 5-seat cushion. In other words, if 6 of her Democrats think the package is too big, not big enough or [insert your gripe here], she’s in trouble.

Pelosi -- much like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- rides out waves of drama with one thing in mind: The end game. Pelosi knows her goal, and somehow always is able to get there. Let’s see if she can do that in 2021.

Kevin McCarthy: The House GOP leadership team actually has a ton at stake this week. Biden’s White House would love nothing more than to say that the Covid bill passed the House with a bipartisan vote. And remember, all they need is one Republican to vote yes to make that claim.

Chuck Schumer: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) don’t want the minimum wage raised, but much of the rest of the Senate Democratic caucus does. Schumer has literally zero room to maneuver. One no vote sinks Biden’s Covid plan.

So Schumer has a delicate balancing act between his progressives and his moderates with the White House and 50 Senate Republicans watching every move intently. Schumer has the toughest job in Washington this Congress.

Mitch McConnell: McConnell likewise has to hold his troops together, but that’s not that hard here. There are very few Republicans who are game for the Democrats’ $1.9-trillion bill. We’ve seen many of the gettable votes say that $1.9 trillion is too steep for them.

No big surprise here -- @SenatorCollins a no on @neeratanden. Tanden's path is narrowing quickly.