WASHINGTON (AP) — Moderate Democrats are demonstrating significant political clout in President Joe Biden’s Washington, thanks to a 50-50 split in the Senate that leaves little room for error on tough votes. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin may have derailed Biden’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget director by expressing opposition to her nomination. And he’s been joined by a handful of other moderate Democrats in demanding more targeted aid in the administration’s COVID-19 relief bill. The moderates have also complicated Biden’s push to get a $15 minimum wage in the bill. It’s moderates, not progressives, who are creating headaches for the Democratic president.
