Biden’s Schmoozing of Congress Meets Harsh Reality of Washington
- President personally negotiating on infrastructure with GOP
- ‘Time is perishable,’ Democratic Senator Van Hollen warns
As President Joe Biden pushes ahead with sweeping plans to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure and the U.S. social safety net, White House advisers are counting on his personal touch with Congress -- including chummy calls with lawmakers -- to win over skeptics in both parties.
He’s taken the lead in engaging with Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican negotiator on a bipartisan infrastructure package. But the hands-on lobbying is beginning to show its limits, as the White House on Friday rejected the latest GOP offer for being too small to address administration objectives. Biden’s pledge to keep talking -- with another call with Capito coming before Biden leaves for a Europe trip on Wednesday -- is adding to pressure among Democrats to forgo the Republicans.