President Joe Biden likes to say, “The buck stops with him.” Congressional Democrats are amplifying that message, even as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan bricks-and-mortar infrastructure deal and sweeping $3.5 trillion partisan social welfare and climate spending proposal face obstacles on Capitol Hill.
But at the same time, Biden and the White House emphasize it is up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to muscle the bills through her chambers, preparing to deflect some of the blame if she fails.
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There is a simple explanation for the strategy, according to Democratic strategist Stefan Hankin. Biden, a 36-year senator of Delaware and a two-term vice president, is a “traditionalist,” he told the Washington Examiner.
“The Senate and the House are supposed to do their job,” he said. “But obviously, he’s president, he’s the leader of the party right now, and it is his agenda.”
For fellow Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, it is “a myth” that rank-and-file Democrats could even distance themselves from Biden. In fact, he encouraged the “team effort,” differentiating Republican divisions from Democratic “disagreements.”
“‘We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately’ — that old American line,” he said.
Rosenberg was confident the infrastructure deal and reconciliation bill would eventually pass, adding Democrats had another chance to clear a reconciliation package next year. But while he downplayed possible political backlash from the chaos, he conceded mistakes were made.
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“It’s possible the president underestimated the complexity of moving these very large bills through Congress during COVID,” he said.
Hankin disagreed that Democrats could revisit liberal priorities next year because “the second we get into anything that even smells like 2022, it’s over.” Unlike Rosenberg, he warned of ramifications for Democrats.
“It’s just more people getting disillusioned and then staying home,” Hankin said of the midterm elections.
Republicans have underscored Biden’s declining job approval numbers, especially whenever a lawmaker or candidate distances themselves from the president and his average 45% approval-48% disapproval rating.
But liberal Democrats, including Pelosi, embrace Biden as the architect behind the infrastructure deal and reconciliation bill. The House speaker, who accidentally called it former President Barack Obama’s agenda this week, has deployed Biden’s “Build Back Better” hashtag on social media, in addition to “#BidensAgendaWorksForUS.”
“This agenda is not some fringe wish list: it is the president’s agenda,” added Congressional Progressive Caucus Leader Pramila Jayapal.
While Biden has not dismissed the label, the president and his aides, namely press secretary Jen Psaki, have reiterated they “trust” Pelosi “and her assessment of what her caucus needs to win this vote.”
But as the White House touts more than 300 points of contact with members and their offices this month, a viral video of Pelosi on the phone during the 2021 congressional baseball game this week drew a stark contrast with Biden, who was also at the event. The president was also photographed on the phone but lacked Pelosi’s animation.
Speaker Pelosi working the phones at the congressional baseball game tonight. https://t.co/g8CqhoqfcL
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 30, 2021
On Thursday, Psaki, who has repeatedly said Biden’s negotiations with centrist Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona were private, edged closer to blaming them for the holdup. Liberals have refused to support the infrastructure deal without a clearer framework for the reconciliation bill.
“We understand what progressive members want, right? They’ve been out there vocally talking to all of you about what they want,” she said. “We need all 50 votes in the Senate to move this forward. That’s where we stand now.”
House Democrats have criticized Biden for not being more forceful during negotiations, as his listening modus operandi has not helped the party bridge the gap between liberals and centrists.
For Bertram Johnson, a politics professor at Middlebury College, Democrats know they “rise or fall together.”
“If Biden does poorly, Democrats do poorly across the board,” he said. “Reminding other Democrats that this is Biden’s agenda reinforces the link and could be a way to persuade reluctant Democrats to climb on board.”
In Biden’s defense, Northeastern University politics professor Costas Panagopoulos noted presidents were constitutionally constrained legislatively.
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“Their most effective power in this arena is typically to persuade members of Congress to do what presidents want, so it is not surprising that the White House is focusing on negotiations with congressional leaders,” he said.
