Biden aims for bipartisanship but applies sly pressure

Biden’s high-profile Oval Office meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday was just one piece of a fulsome attempt to win over GOP lawmakers, White House aides said. But even if it doesn’t succeed, it could prove useful — boxing in Republicans while helping keep the widely disparate Democrats in line. Some moderate Democrats, notably Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have urged an effort at bipartisanship to pass the $2.3 trillion bill. And while Biden has made clear, publicly and privately, that he wants Republican support, the White House is also preparing to go it alone, if necessary, to get the bill passed. That would leave the GOP in the politically unpopular position of explaining why it objected to investments many Americans want... Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said the entire package would need to be redone, “completely recrafted,” to bring on Republicans. And Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, who was in Monday’s meeting, said afterward that “clearly there are parts of this program that are non-starters for Republicans.” Undoing the 2017 GOP tax breaks “would be an almost impossible sell,” Wicker told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement