'A 50-50 Senate sucks': Dejected Democrats fret over agenda failure amid grim 2022 outlook

Anger is growing in Democratic ranks over the failure to get President Joe Biden's sweeping agenda through this year despite unified control of Congress, with their party already bracing for what could be a brutal Election Day in next November's midterms.

Major issues they promised to deliver on, such as a bill to overhaul voting laws, stand virtually no chance of becoming law. And the biggest ticket item -- the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan to dramatically expand the social safety net -- which is still mired in talks with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, has yet to be drafted into final legislative text or even fully vetted by the Senate parliamentarian.

Despite major accomplishments this year, such as passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law and the nearly $2 trillion Covid relief package amid razor thin majorities in both chambers, there's a palpable sense of frustration among Democrats that much more should have been accomplished -- especially given the array of promises they made to their voters and the self-imposed deadlines set by their leaders that have blown.