Biden Falters in Push to Reframe Debt Debate, Thwarting Agenda
- Treasury chief Yellen had highlighted low interest burden
- Manchin aligns with GOP in voicing concerns on enlarged debt
Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20.
Photographer: Pete Marovich/Sipa/Bloomberg
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The Biden administration’s attempt to reframe thinking around federal debt and win backing for a sweeping expansion of the American social safety net looks to have faltered, undone in large part by an inflationary surge that stiffened the resistance of a key Democratic senator.
The conflict between President Joe Biden and Joe Manchin over the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan came to a head Sunday, when the West Virginia senator invoked the size of the national debt in pulling his support.