Thread by @awprokop

Perceptive thread. IMO this is more due to changes in the US Senate than to Obama vs Biden.

The 2009 Senate was still steeped in the old traditions and wouldn't have done things this way. But after a decade of The McConnell Experience, opinion's changed

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/1417876061333884929

Given the centrality of budget reconciliation to Trump and Biden's year one legislative strategies, it's amazing that in 2009 Democrats hoped to use that process for... nothing.

It was just a backup plan in case the ACA failed. (Luckily so, bc they needed it)

But the experience of the Obama years made it obvious to everyone that a new president could no longer hope to get opposition party votes to pass his top agenda items through regular order.

So McConnell/Trump pursued reconciliation-or-bust in 2017 and Dems are doing the same now

I'm talking about for the big bill, the mega-bill that's coming through reconciliation, which is the true heart of Dems' agenda. And for the American Rescue Plan before it. Both entirely designed for reconciliation with no illusions of getting 60

https://twitter.com/nhcohen/status/1417878136788856833

The bipartisan infrastructure deal would be significant, and a nice achievement for Biden. But it pales in comparison to what Dems hope to achieve through their reconciliation bill

Also worth noting that much of the ACA couldn't have passed through reconciliation due to the Byrd Rule.

Ds are now reverse-engineering a mega-bill based on what they think/hope can go through reconciliation. But it means prioritizing a certain sort of policy (spending-focused)