Ed Pagano Quoted in Law360 on Impact of Senate Control on Biden Agenda

In an article published before control of the U.S. Senate had been determined, Law360 quoted Akin Gump public law and policy partner Ed Pagano in the article “Biden’s Judicial Impact In Limbo As Ga. Counts Runoff Votes.”

“It’s a big deal who controls the Senate,” said Pagano, who spent nearly two decades as a Senate staffer before serving as Senate Liaison to former President Barack Obama. “The majority leader sets the floor agenda, what bills are brought up and what bills are not brought up. The committee chairs set the agenda for what legislation is considered and what nominations are considered.”

Pagano, whose tenure on Capitol Hill included working for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), both for the Senator’s office and the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy chaired, predicted that a Republican chairman of the committee would be “selective” of any picks that a President Biden makes for the federal bench. “My sense is it’s not a total stoppage, but it certainly is a slowdown compared to the pace of the Trump judicial nominations, which really was a machine,” he said.

Looking at specific legislation that may be on the horizon, Pagano said he expects a Democratic-led Senate to be much more likely to consider liberal priorities, such as climate legislation, an immigration bill with a path to citizenship, and raising both the minimum wage and the tax rates for top earners.

Regardless of party control, though, Pagano noted that Biden has a “working relationship” with the Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), after 25 years serving together in the Senate and eight years negotiating during the Obama administration, particularly for the “fiscal cliff” deal in 2012.