Biden sees opening in GOP, corporate rift
WASHINGTON — The morning President Joe Biden introduced his jobs and infrastructure plan, senior White House officials briefed Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, and four other chief executives of the country’s biggest banks about the measure.
White House officials in a 24-hour period also briefed powerful business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce, and Business Roundtable about the proposal, while also planning outreach to thousands of small businesses. White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond and White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese were among the administration’s emissaries for the legislation.
The meetings were in part the result of an effort from the Biden administration to take advantage of the growing rift between corporate America and the Republican Party as they seek to sell the nation on more than $2 trillion in tax hikes.
“We have prioritized business outreach; we think they have an important role to play and that their voice is important,” said Zach Butterworth, the White House’s director of private sector engagement. “They know we’re operating in good faith and that we’re proposing policies that are good for workers and good for business.”
The strategy is aimed at blunting the ferocity of business opposition to the tax hikes, likely the most controversial part of Biden’s jobs and infrastructure package.
White House officials have argued to corporate executives that the tax hikes are necessary to fund large investments in public infrastructure that the business sector has long sought. But Democratic officials also recognize that their efforts risk bringing about a quick reconciliation between the GOP and business community, driving them together in opposition against a common foe.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has spoken to more than 50 leading executives in recent days about the plan, according to her spokeswoman.
“Some [executives] have said they’re fine with the tax increases as proposed; others have said they’re expecting a corporate tax increase” and were relieved Biden is not pushing for it to be increased to 35 percent, Raimondo said in an interview. The corporate tax rate was at 35 percent before Trump’s 2017 tax law. “Others have said maybe there’s some room for compromise on the rate or that the base doesn’t have to be broadened as much. To which I say: ‘The president has been very clear: There is room for compromise.’ ”
Corporate America’s relatively muted reaction thus far to significant tax hikes was until recently unthinkable and reflects major changes in U.S. politics — the most important of which may be the recent falling out between the GOP and business elites.
When congressional Republicans worked to approve a $2 trillion tax cut in 2017, the GOP and corporate America worked together seamlessly to build support for the measure and push it into law.
Now, that relationship is under unprecedented strain. Congressional Republicans are incensed by corporate criticisms over GOP-backed voting restrictions and stances on culture war issues. Business groups, meanwhile, have increasingly eyed the GOP as a dangerous partner, toxic to their brand and harmful to their ability to recruit young worker talent.
“Capitol Hill Republicans and big business groups like the Chamber [of Commerce] are not as close as they once were. And that weakens their ability to affect the tax bill; it just does,” said Matt Mackowiak, who runs Potomac Strategy Group, a Republican political and corporate consulting firm.
An increasing number of Republicans are taking a more aggressive stance against big businesses. Andrew Surabian, a Republican strategist, said: “If these corporations want to act like mini-governments and they’re going to throw in with the other side nonstop, we should stop pretending they’re our allies. If they’re not our allies, why would we ever waste any political capital on them for some of the very unpopular things they want to get done in government?”