Biden’s Achievements May Not Matter Much This Year
Midterm voters don’t always reward the party in power for accomplishing its legislative goals.
It won’t necessarily matter.
Photographer: MANDEL NGAN/AFPA few months ago, the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda appeared stagnant and its political fortunes dire. Then Congress enacted several major new laws — most notably a budget reconciliation bill that combined climate change mitigation and health-care affordability measures — and President Joe Biden announced an unprecedented partial forgiveness of federal student debt. Now both Biden and his party are enjoying such a surge in popularity that some pundits are openly questioning the long-assumed Republican landslide in November.
It’s tempting to draw a simple connection between Democrats’ recent burst of policymaking and their concurrent rise in the polls. But voters don’t necessarily think that way — and there’s no guarantee this bounce will endure until Election Day.