Republican optimism about striking deals with President Joe Biden has waned as congressional Republicans publicly take direct aim at the president rather than his West Wing staff.
Republicans were skeptical of Biden’s campaign promise to try to unify the country. But they were hopeful of more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill with Biden, long regarded as a centrist 36-year Senate veteran, in the Oval Office.
Now, after being muscled out of negotiations over Biden’s opening gambit, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package rammed through Congress with only Democratic votes, Republicans are adopting a different approach.
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“Biden saying at his press conference that Republicans are unwilling to engage is a complete canard,” one GOP Senate staffer told the Washington Examiner. “The president and his party have veered so far left that they have no genuine interest in a centrist bipartisan compromise and are unwilling to even engage.”
Republican strategist Duf Sundheim believes Biden would prefer bipartisan action but is being “steamrolled” by the ideologues in his administration, lawmakers, and the Democratic base. “And it’s a tactic that’s lost Democrats elections, namely former President Barack Obama,” according to Sundheim, referring to big Democratic losses in the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections under the 44th president.
“The Democratic Party’s DNA is to go for it,” he said. “I remember in 2009, I was at a meeting with some high-ranking Republican senators, and they said if Obama followed through on his pledge to pass a bipartisan recovery package, the Republican Party would be screwed in 2010.”
But Sundheim said Obama deferred to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and “jammed through a partisan recovery package” and “crammed through Obamacare.” Democrats then relinquished control of the House after the 2010 midterm elections.
“But that was a cost they were willing to pay,” he went on.
And history appears to be repeating itself. Biden began his term confident he could work with Republicans or at least earn one GOP vote for his spending package. The latter, at least, didn’t come to fruition.
Talks started civilly, with Biden inviting Republicans to the White House to discuss their $618 billion counterproposal. But when it became clear the GOP had low-balled its offer, GOP sources who were in the Oval Office with both sides blamed top Biden aides for the breakdown in communications. They claimed, for example, White House chief of staff Ron Klain rolled his eyes during their conversation.
Then, instead of trying to meet Republicans halfway, the administration plowed ahead using a special budgetary procedure known as reconciliation, which meant Biden could pass the measure with a simple majority in the Senate — and without Republican support. (Congressional Republicans, notably, never upped their price tag in an effort to sway the president and congressional Democrats, with some observers saying neither side was ever serious about a deal.)
Now, it’s likely Biden’s next legislative agenda item, a sweeping infrastructure and jobs package worth up to $4 trillion, will be pushed through Congress using reconciliation, as well. The problem for Republicans is the package is also anticipated to invest in things they staunchly oppose: climate change projects and what Biden is calling the “care economy.” That portion will propose free community college, universal pre-K, and a national paid leave program.
Rather than again criticizing the president’s team, Republicans this time are directing their complaints straight at the president. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, said this week he has only spoken to Biden once since his inauguration about the military coup in Myanmar and not concerning the president’s domestic policy.
“So far, this administration is not interested in doing anything on a bipartisan basis in the political center,” McConnell told Fox News. “They would be more than happy to pick off a few of our members and do what they would like to do, but there has been no effort whatsoever by the president or the administration to do anything in the political center.”
For Sundheim, the shift in strategy reflects Republicans’ desire to reverse Democratic dominance of Washington, D.C.
“The Dems may lose power for a while, but they will eventually win their power back,” he said. “The Republicans see this and have turned from passing legislation to digging trenches and arming for the 2022 elections. And they like how the battlefield looks.”
During his first stand-alone press conference, Biden contended this week that Republicans need to decide whether they wish to continue stoking “politics of division.” His word choice previews his reaction should the GOP stymie Democrats in Congress. But in the same hourlong appearance, he ripped Republican grandstanding over the migrant surge at the southern border.
“I know they have to posture for a while. Let them get it out of their system,” he said.
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Biden also risks testing the patience of his Democratic colleagues. During his news conference, he underscored the importance of “timing” in response to pressure to act on immigration, gun control, and voting reform. He insisted he would remain focused on managing the coronavirus pandemic before pivoting to infrastructure and jobs.
