Ron Klain, President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming White House chief of staff, downplayed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attending Wednesday’s inauguration after he challenged the Electoral College count.
Traditionally, all members of Congress are invited to witness a new president take their oath of office on the Capitol’s West Front, according to Klain.
“I don’t know who is planning or specifically planning on attending or not. But look, I think what’s more important than which members of Congress attend is what message Joe Biden will have for the country,” Klain told CNN on Sunday.
Klain was pressed on whether Biden was naive to assume he’ll be able to work with Cruz and other congressional Republicans who led the push against automatically accepting each state’s electors, effectively certifying the 2020 election. Klain reminded host Jake Tapper that 93 senators voted to acknowledge the results.
“The American people voted in November, and they voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden, no question. But they elected an evenly-divided Senate, they elected a closely-divided Congress. We’re going to have to find ways for Democrats and Republicans to get things done,” he said.
Cruz’s decision to show up at Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday has been queried by critics, including former 2018 Democratic Senate rival Beto O’Rourke.
“Don’t let Cruz attend the inauguration. His attempt at sedition and his incitement to violent insurrectionists should result in his expulsion from the Senate. He certainly shouldn’t be allowed at a celebration of the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” O’Rourke tweeted last week.
Don’t let Cruz attend the inauguration. His attempt at sedition and his incitement to violent insurrectionists should result in his expulsion from the Senate. He certainly shouldn’t be allowed at a celebration of the peaceful transfer of presidential power. https://t.co/btv0qtnTJZ
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) January 15, 2021
Klain added that Biden’s administration will wait until their intelligence officials are confirmed by the Senate to consider advice from Susan Gordon, President Trump’s former principal deputy director of national intelligence, who said Biden should block Trump from receiving briefings once he leaves office.
On Saturday, Klain foreshadowed Biden’s first 10 days on the job, outlining the breadth of executive action he’ll take. One of Biden’s top priorities will be passing his proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package. One of its provisions, $1,400 stimulus checks, has already lost the support of one Democratic senator unless they’re better targeted to people who’ve lost their jobs: West Virginia’s Joe Manchin.
“Well, I think we’re going to have a conversation. We’ve started one with Sen. Manchin and every other member of the Senate,” he said.
“We’re inheriting a huge mess here, Jake. But we have a plan to fix it,” Klain added.
