TICK, TOCK: Democrats Freak Out as Manchin and Murkowski Become Latest Victims of Senate COVID Outbreak. “Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate does not have any provision for allowing lawmakers to ‘phone it in’ and vote remotely or by proxy. With their razor-thin majority, Democrats can’t afford to be without swing-vote Republicans — and they need every single Democrat — in order to pass high-profile legislation before leaving for their home states on August 8.”