I didn't make the rule for this Congress. The democrats have decided that it will hardball, so hardball it will be.

The Democrats were trying to negotiate a deal with Republicans. It was Johnson and the House that announced that there would be no deal that wasn't, basically, HR 2. So McConnell decided that the GOP effort in the Senate was DOA - because he couldn't risk having his Senators negotiate and vote on any bill once Johnson said that any bill would die in the House. Not that they wanted to mark up the Senate bill, not that they had some other priorities. That even before any specific provisions were announced, the bill was dead.

Pretty hardball on the GOP side. Pretty much HR or nothing. They'll end up with nothing, since (again) HR 2 was drafted so restrictively that it can't get any Democratic votes (oy, again, the family detention provision? Really?). Which is certainly a position to take, but it's a very hardball position.

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