Biden HAD conveyed that he would NOT sign the bill unless he got a second BIGGER bill aimed more at social policy and that would include tax increases thru reconciliation ….
His reversal is bound to cause him problems with fellow Democrats in Congress….
And it goes BACK to the US Senate rule that major legislation MUST have the vote of 60 US Senator’s to pass…
Biden and several Democrats do NOT want to change the rule which allows a minority in the US Senate to block things they do not support even though they majority of 51 could vote for the legislation…
Joseph R. Biden HAS some political trouble…..
His old bipartisan inside’s is now being used against him as President…
He’s dancing right now ….
We’ll see if the second (BIGGER) bill he wants makes the cut…..
From the last 4 years history?
One would think that Republican’s in this same position would have NO problem with using what ever leverage they would have….
Biden’s switch came after Republicans bitterly complained that he had made it appear that they’d effectively signed off on a strategy that allowed the president to have a bipartisan infrastructure measure along with a much bigger Democrats-only spending package that he refers to as the American Families Plan….
…
On Thursday, Biden was emphatic that the two measures would pass at the same time, a demand of many on the left who threatened to withhold support from the compromise plan unless they were assured their top priorities would not fall by the wayside.
The drama began on Thursday when Biden unexpectedly emerged from the West Wing around 12:30 p.m., accompanied by the five Republican and five Democratic senators who’d crafted the agreement, to announce to waiting reporters, “We have a deal.”
In response to a question about the fate of the separate package of Democratic priorities, the president said: “There is going to be a two-track system.” Supporters would try to move the compromise through the Senate with the 60 votes required for most legislation, he suggested, while Democrats would try to push the more liberal package with only 51 votes using a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation….
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In Saturday’s statement, Biden offered a new position. “The bottom line is this: I gave my word to support the infrastructure plan, and that’s what I intend to do,” Biden said. “I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor.”
The president also outlined some of the pressure that he has been feeling from the left flank of his own party in recent days. “Some other Democrats have said they might oppose the infrastructure plan because it omits items they think are important,” Biden said. “That is a mistake, in my view.”…
Note….
This incident is probably a prime example of why President Biden does NOT do formal press conferences….