As a group of ten Republican and Democratic senators got ready to jet out of Washington on Thursday for a two-week recess, breathing a sigh of relief that at long last, a bipartisan infrastructure deal had been struck, some had not even boarded their planes before blowback from Republicans over President Joe Biden’s stated intention to link the agreement to a separate, larger package, threatened to sink the just-announced plan.
Then, after a clarifying statement over the weekend from President Biden and some fresh optimism from Republican negotiators, the bipartisan deal seems to be back on track.
But on Monday, taking advantage of the shaky political situation for Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell demanding even more from Biden, insisting that he tell Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to also back down from their plans to tie the packages together.
McConnell, who is dead-set against opposes the larger package and apparently sensing an opening to divide Democrats, said President Biden needed to do more to reassure Republicans.
In a statement, McConnell called on the president to urge Schumer and Pelosi to commit to unlinking the bipartisan plan from a reconciliation package. Both leaders have previously stated they see the two plans moving together on “two tracks.”
“I appreciate the president saying that he is willing to deal with infrastructure separately, but he doesn’t control the Congress and the speaker, and the majority leader,” McConnell said.
On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly dodged questions about how the president would proceed, saying he has spoken with lawmakers and will leave the timing of the bills to Congress.
Source-ABC
