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With Donald Trump ranked as the least popular president in the history of modern elections, President Joe Biden could be confident of claiming a mandate to advance his progressive agenda. However, the democratic majorities in Congress are small in the House of Representatives and very thin in the Senate. This gives a small number of Democratic Conservatives and moderate Republicans an overwhelming influence over which laws can be passed. Senator Mitch McConnell remains a force to be reckoned with in a power-sharing agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. What does this balance of power mean for the new government? David Remnick asks this question Jane Mayer, who reported on McConnell’s tenure as a political figure, and to Evan Osnos, who reported on Biden’s election campaign and wrote a biography of the new president.
