
Manchin signals he's not ready to buck Republicans on key issues
CNN
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a pivotal swing vote for the party, is making very clear he's not ready to abandon Republicans for Democrats to try to push legislation on their own, as President Joe Biden's agenda faces a critical month in June.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Manchin said bipartisan infrastructure talks should continue even as pressure builds for Democrats to move ahead without Republicans, and he dismissed calls to create a special carveout from the Senate's filibuster rules to pass a voting overhaul bill along straight party lines, a key priority for Democrats that faces stiff opposition from GOP lawmakers. Manchin heads into a pivotal period of time for Congress where a number of key policy issues are on a razor's edge in the Senate, giving the swing Democrat enormous sway over the future of the Biden agenda. At the centerpiece of that agenda is the infrastructure package that Biden and Republicans are furiously negotiating in a last-ditch attempt to cut a compromise, though they remain far apart.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











