Dethroned: Manchin and Sinema are on the verge of losing power

On Friday, Newsweek analyzed how Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) could be on the brink of losing their status as the Senate's most powerful members.

"Both notably denied Democrats' efforts to overturn Republicans' blockade of their party's sweeping reforms to the country's election laws, drawing scorn from their president and their party," wrote Nick Reynolds. "Manchin used his vote to strong-arm both into concessions for a natural gas pipeline in his home state in a massive domestic spending bill earlier this year (he later pulled that bill under bipartisan pressure) and has had a prolonged flirtation with the Republican Party, going as far as attending events with Republican donors in red states like Texas. And Sinema, labeled by Time magazine in one article as 'Republicans' Favorite Democrat,' has used her position in the middle to cut deals across the aisle as well as within her own party, which regularly found itself at the negotiating table with her to broker legislation that could get to 50 votes."

All of this was possible because Democrats controlled the Senate with exactly 50 seats, requiring unanimous cooperation from the party and Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote to pass anything on a purely partisan basis — leaving the two most conservative Democrats as gatekeepers.

However, on Tuesday, if voters re-elect Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), as polls suggest is more likely than not, Democrats will be bumped up to a 51-seat majority — and that means they will only need one of the two to pass legislation, not both.

RELATED: Kyrsten Sinema is in big trouble in Arizona

"Manchin, one of Congress' most conservative Democrats, still votes with President Joe Biden's position 89 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight; Sinema votes the party line 95 percent of the time," said the report. "And beyond the recent spending packages, both senators have unique priorities and their own agendas, rarely voting as a bloc. If the pair do find themselves in a situation where they can throw their weight around, it will be a challenge. Especially with one more vote to contend with."

There is also a chance that this will be the last session of Congress with either senator. Both face re-election in 2024. Manchin represents West Virginia, a state former President Donald Trump carried by over 40 points; Sinema, meanwhile, has high disapproval from Democratic voters in Arizona, and Rep. Ruben Gallego has put out strong hints of mounting a primary challenge against her.