Biden: Looks to refresh ties with European allies

The New York Times, which supported Biden’s election on its editorial page, advised him to “Ease Up on the Executive Actions, Joe” in an editorial on Jan 27. The newspaper said the orders were “no way to make law’’. It urged him instead of ruling by fiat, to legislate via the narrowly divided Congress.

That Congress — where Biden served 36 years — is one of the biggest divides for the 46th president. It controls his legislative agenda, from the pandemic relief bill to an immigration plan that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Hutchinson said he told Biden that the administration’s proposed COVID-19 relief package was too large and needed to be more targeted. He also urged the president to secure bipartisan support for the plan. Though he met with 10 Republicans in the White House on Feb 2 and listened to their proposals for a smaller pandemic bill, Biden rejected it, saying the $618 billion offer was too small.

The bill is on track to pass the House by the end of this week and the Senate by the end of next week. But Democrats aren’t expecting to get a single Republican vote in the Senate for the package so they will use a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation to win Senate passage without the threat of a filibuster, and that will even widen the divide with Congress.

While Biden has been singularly focused on the pandemic relief bill, he also has moved into an area where as a former senator and vice-president he is steeped in policy experience — foreign affairs. He has pledged to reinvest in alliances and diplomacy and emphasized democratic values.

On Feb 19, in a virtual address to the Munich Security Conference from the White House, Biden said: “I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship. But the United States is determined to reengage with Europe.”

Before delivering his remarks, Biden met earlier over video conference with the leaders of the G7, the group of nations that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US, to discuss a global response to the pandemic. The session also marked the US’ official return to the Paris climate accord, 30 days after Biden announced he would reenter the US in the pact on his first day in office.

In a joint statement following that meeting, the G7 vowed to “work together and with others to make 2021 a turning point for multilateralism”.

The G7 meeting touched on China as well, according to the statement. “With the aim of supporting a fair and mutually beneficial global economic system for all people, we will engage with others, especially G20 countries including large economies such as China,” it said.