Joe Biden, the new president of the United States, will have to deal with Congress when he has only a very narrow majority.
He is forced to heed the advice of a handful of Republican senators and moderate Democrats who today hold the power to block or save his major projects.
And the boss of the White House has just paid the price.
While he wanted to impose Neera Tanden to lead the White House budget, a key position to develop the budget wanted by the executive, Joe Biden found himself facing opposition from Republican senators but also Democrats.
Republicans said they were outraged by old comments targeting them by name, while progressives close to Bernie Sanders considered her too centrist.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin had announced that he would vote for this candidate, believing that her "overtly political" political statements would have a "toxic impact" on relations between Congress and the White House.
A next obstacle this week?
Faced with this sling, Joe Biden resigned himself to accepting Neera Tanden's request to “withdraw his candidacy”.
So far, his other appointments have been approved, often by an overwhelming majority.
And Democrats have started pushing his big bills forward in the House of Representatives, where they also hold a majority.
But the fall of Neera Tanden heralds the other tougher battles to come in the Senate.
The next hurdle, starting this week?
The expected vote in the upper house on the vast stimulus plan for the American economy, hit by the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he had "enough" votes to approve the bill by the weekend.
But to obtain this assurance, this text at the request of several Democratic senators has been amended and will not include an increase in the minimum wage, unlike the initial project.
Faced with this situation, Joe Biden risks throughout his mandate to find himself with a Damocles sword above his head in the event of a bronca of several senators to pass his projects such as police reform, legislation on weapons ...
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So much so that some observers expect a "congressional stalemate" at least for the next two years until the parliamentary elections.