His allies note that Biden could end up winning even more Electoral College votes than Trump in 2016 while winning the popular vote by millions, arguably granting him more of a mandate to govern than his predecessor.īut Biden’s claim to bipartisan success has often seemed predicated on a decisive Democratic victory that did not materialize. And Biden has long maintained that his decades of experience on Capitol Hill means he’s more likely than his immediate predecessors to be able to cut deals across party lines. To be sure, political circumstances can shift quickly in the face of unexpected events, as the pandemic itself proved earlier this year. The concern for Biden is that even if he achieves his decades-long quest for the presidency, his administration will have few tools to enact his agenda or to address the major crises of the Trump presidency, from the coronavirus pandemic to racial unrest. Their prospects of gaining control suffered a setback Wednesday after vulnerable Republican incumbents led by Susan Collins of Maine fended off Democratic challengers. While six Senate races remain undecided, Democrats would need an extraordinary surge as states finish counting votes to win three of them - enough for the minimum 50 seats they’d need to control the chamber. The majority leader recently had to disappoint even Trump when he couldn’t muster the votes for a large coronavirus stimulus package, a sign that restive Republicans may be in even less of a mood to cut a deal with a new Democratic president. Bush’s tax cuts permanent for most Americans, a compromise later criticized by Democrats.īut Biden may find McConnell isn’t the deal-maker he once knew. McConnell and Biden cut a deal in the lame-duck session after Obama’s re-election making President George W. Republicans have already telegraphed that they’re likely to rediscover religion when it comes to deficit spending, after adding nearly $4 trillion in debt during Trump’s first term.īiden held himself out as the one Democrat who could deal with Republicans in Washington, dating back to his time in the Senate with McConnell. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - who could face a leadership challenge and is certain to sustain losses to her majority - may be unable to provide Biden with crucial leverage in negotiations over the federal budget. Liberals’ most ambitious aspirations - from expanding the Supreme Court to granting statehood to Washington, D.C. Nor is a GOP Senate likely to entertain expanding access to government health care programs, overhauling the nation’s immigration system, or a major infrastructure package. There’s virtually no chance a Mitch McConnell-led Republican Senate would approve Biden’s planned tax hike on the wealthy and corporations, much less a $2 trillion plan to fight climate change he hoped the new revenue would fund.
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