Negotiator-in-chief Biden notches his first win but a bipartisan governing loss [View all]
When President Joe Biden welcomed lawmakers into the Oval Office for his very first publicly scheduled meeting with members of Congress, he spoke exclusively with Republican senators -- an apparent effort to reach across the aisle to get their support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal. Now, a month later, that legislation is being sent to Biden's desk to sign into law without a single GOP vote of support.
"I'm anxious for us to talk," Biden said to Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins during the Oval meeting. "I feel like I'm back in the Senate, which I liked the best of everything I did."
In the earliest days of his presidency, Biden was predictably optimistic about getting Republican support for his major legislative endeavors. But in many ways, it's clear that the Washington he now faces is far different from the one he thrived in as a senator -- and it remains to be seen if his well-honed skills and governing approach will be met with success in the radically polarized new world.
Over the course of three weeks after taking office, the President would host nearly one-quarter of all US senators in the Oval to discuss his American Rescue Plan and infrastructure. But despite the warm West Wing receptions, any semblance of Republican support for his relief proposal -- Biden's top legislative priority -- largely evaporated when Democrats refused to shrink the size of the $1.9 trillion bill. The plan passed along party lines, and Biden, eager to get his first legislative priority out the door, was willing to sacrifice any potential for bipartisan support.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/negotiator-in-chief-biden-notches-his-first-win-but-a-bipartisan-governing-loss/ar-BB1esKSe?li=BBnb7Kz
Oh boohoo. He didn't negotiate with the Republican'ts who refused to negotiate.
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