The recent fight between Senate Democrats and Republicans over the rules that would govern the chamber this session was complicated and arcane. All you really need to know is that Democrats don’t seem likely to use their slim majority to gut the filibuster. So, what exactly can Democrats do with a governing trifecta (control of the U.S. Senate, House and presidency) but not a filibuster-proof margin in the Senate? And, just as importantly, what can’t they do?
Let’s start with three things Democrats can do …
Use the budget “reconciliation” process on tax policy and spending
This is the really big one. There are a lot of good, detailed primers on reconciliation online, so I will describe it only briefly here. Essentially, as part of each year’s budget process, the Senate can adopt at least one large bill that i