(Business Insider) — When the federal government reopened on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s deal to put off immigration negotiations in favor of a short-term spending plan took center stage – but a bipartisan group of centrist senators were celebrating their own victory.
The moderate group, who call themselves the Common Sense Coalition, came together for a series of meetings behind the scenes. Led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins, they were able to successfully create the united front needed to push the leaders of the two parties together to finalize a deal.
Whether this centrist coalition will last is unclear. But for the time being, these compromise-minded lawmakers are helping pave the way for bipartisan deal-making in an age of intractable political tribalism.
Meet the 23 senators in the Common Sense Coalition – By Michal Kranz, Jan 24, 2018.