President Joe Biden can’t avoid a bad midterm election. But with a boost last week from the US Supreme Court, he still might avoid the worst.
A bad election means losing the Democratic majority in the US House of Representatives, which his own party’s strategists now consider virtually certain. A Republican-controlled House would roadblock his legislative agenda, investigate his administration and family, and perhaps even impeach him – notwithstanding the absence of legitimate cause.
The worst means losing the Senate, too. Returned to the job of majority leader, Mitch McConnell could deny Biden the ability to fill top administration jobs and judicial vacancies – including any potential vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Both outcomes will be shaped by the same atmospheric conditions, which for months have strongly favored the GOP. But fortunately for the beleaguered Biden, critical House and Senate contests sometimes move in different ways. CONTINUED
John Harwood, CNN
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