Some Democrats hope that the failure to pass a voting rights overhaul this week could help smooth the legislative path ahead for the domestic policy plan, with lawmakers eager to show more evidence of what a Democrat-controlled Washington could accomplish.
“I have been saying that once we got through this kind of moment on voting rights that we need to shift back, and we need to figure out what we have 50 votes to pass,” said Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota. “We need to pass it and not wait around.”
Any effort to swiftly pass a deal may be further complicated by the need to negotiate a catchall spending deal with Republicans to keep the government open beyond Feb. 18.
“I’ll be interested to hear how the White House wants us to prioritize this — my worry is that this is our last window to get an appropriations bill done,” said Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut.
Top lawmakers in both chambers have resumed the spending talks in recent weeks. Asked whether an effort to revive the social policy plan might derail those negotiations, Senator Richard J. Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it probably would.
He added: “It takes the oxygen out of the air.”
Other senators involved in spending discussions suggested that they might get a boost from an effort among some lawmakers to provide more pandemic relief to counter the toll of the latest coronavirus variant and offer further support to restaurants, hospitals and other institutions.
“I could see where some sort of Covid relief package is maybe kind of a sidecar on the bigger bill,” said Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri. He said that he had spoken briefly to Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services, about the issue in recent weeks, but the administration has not formally requested emergency funding.