Biden faces Congress, 1st veto as bipartisanship ebbs
>> President Joe Biden will meet with congressional Democrats starting Wednesday in back-to-back private sessions as their party confronts the limits of its power in a newly divided Washington with its once sweeping agenda now effectively stalled.
Biden's first meeting, with House Democrats at their retreat in Baltimore, comes as energized Republicans are on the verge of forcing the initial veto of his presidency — on a measure to limit the way private financial
advisers promote “woke” investment options. That confrontation is a sign of how bipartisanship is giving way to a new era of oversight, investigations and conflict.
Without many new initiatives to propose, Biden is determined not to see the party backslide into bickering and disappointment. Instead, Democrats appear ready to focus on a Hippocratic oath-style strategy of doing no harm — playing up what they have accomplished so far while portraying Republicans as being led by extremists beholden to the Trump-era “Make America Great Again” agenda.
It's a risky tack as both parties try to set the political narrative before the 2024 elections. Biden is expected to announce this spring whether he will seek a second term while Donald Trump is already campaigning in a growing field for the Republican nomination.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters earlier this week at the Capitol that the president “has a phenomenal track
record of accomplishment and a vision for continuing to build out an economy that emphasizes the priorities and well-being of everyday Americans.” Jeffries said Democrats will remain “strongly unified” behind Biden and his agenda.
The challenges ahead are stark.
Congress must approve raising the $31 trillion debt limit this summer to avoid a financially devastating federal default. Economic uncertainty at home and the grinding war in Ukraine are testing America's resolve. There are no easy answers to stubborn worries over the fentanyl crisis, climate change, gun violence and the lingering COVID-19 crisis.
Biden had success drawing Republicans to his side last year, when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate. He was able to sign into law bills on infrastructure investments, same-sex marriage protections and others issues.
While divided government can often be a time of bipartisan deal-making, Biden's agenda this new session of Congress, with the GOP in charge of the House, is mired in legislative gridlock.
Policy proposals from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are slim, overpowered by the oversight and investigations that Republicans are undertaking to examine almost every aspect of Biden, his family and his administration.
On Wednesday, McCarthy, R-Calif., planned to bring together parents who are backing a “parents bill of rights,” which would mandate that schools keep them informed of what children are being taught and how money is being spent.
“It's just it feels like the House Republicans don't have any interest in governing,” Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn., told The Associated Press. “I don't know what Joe Biden can do to try to put out the garbage fire seems to be the Republican majority right now.”
McCarthy has made some bipartisan inroads peeling off Democrats to support Republican-led measures, including votes this week to roll back a new rule set by the Department of Labor over the way asset managers consider climate change and “environmental, social and governance” factors in investments.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., announced he was joining Republicans in supporting the “ESG” measure, saying the rule was the latest example of “how the administration prioritizes a liberal policy agenda” over protecting the retirement accounts of pension investments. He said the rule could penalize the fossil fuel industry that's important to his state.
The White House has said Biden would veto the bill.