Schumer, McConnell finally reach Senate power-sharing agreement
Weeks of wrangling concluded while top Democrat says the party will prioritize climate change
New Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the top Republican he replaced, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Wednesday that they have reached a power-sharing agreement, which will give Democrats control of committees.
The accord comes after weeks of political wrangling, largely centered on McConnell's attempts to ensure that the Democrats would not try and ram through a bill to do away with the legislative filibuster - the so-called cloture rule - which requires 60 members to end debate on most topics and move to a vote.
McConnell said he was assured by two Democrats - Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WVa.) and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema - that they would not agree to change the filibuster rule, reported The Washington Examiner.
The Senate is expected to vote on the final deal later Wednesday that would officially transfer the leadership gavels for Senate committees from Republicans to Democrats.
FOX News reported that Schumer has already made it perfectly clear that the Democrats have prioritized what he termed the "climate crisis," as the main constituent of their legislative agenda.
"I've already instructed the incoming Democratic chairs of all relevant committees to begin holding hearings on the climate crisis in preparation for enacting [US] President [Joe] Biden's 'Build Back Better' agenda," he maintained.
The loss of control of the domestic agenda reinforces how crucial and costly the two losses in the run-off Georgia Senate seat elections are for the GOP.