Politics
Senator Joe Manchin Didn’t Ask to Be a Kingmaker—But He Is One
The conservative Democrat hopes to devote himself to productive bipartisanship. In the new Congress, that may be a pipe dream.
Photographer: Al Drago/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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The success or failure of Joe Biden’s presidency was always going to hinge on the U.S. Senate. But the senator poised to determine that outcome isn’t the one everybody expected.
In the weeks after the election, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the presumed Republican majority leader, looked to be the critical figure, with the power and willingness to frustrate the new administration’s lofty ambitions.