Time Ticking Away, Democrats Face Wrenching Test On Agenda

Bracing for political trouble, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Democratic colleagues that June will “test our resolve.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bracing for political trouble, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Democratic colleagues that June will “test our resolve” as senators return Monday to consider infrastructure, voting rights and other stalled-out priorities at a crucial moment in Congress. Six months into the party’s hold on Washington, with Joe Biden in the White House and Democrats controlling the House and Senate, there is a gloomy uncertainty over their ability to make gains on campaign promises. As Democrats strain to deliver on Biden’s agenda, the limits of bipartisanship in the 50-50 Senate are increasingly clear: Talks over an infrastructure package are teetering, though Biden is set to confer again Monday with the lead GOP negotiator, and an ambitious elections overhaul bill is essentially dead now that Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced his opposition Sunday.