After crises, Biden looks to get agenda on track
White House gears up for a legislative sprint during fall
WASHINGTON — The collapse of the Afghan government, a surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant, devastating weather events, a disappointing jobs report. What next?
After a torrent of crises, President Joe Biden is hoping to turn the page on an unrelenting summer and refocus his presidency this fall around his core economic agenda.
A broad-based elevation of the nation’s economic prospects became even more pressing as expanded unemployment benefits that have kept millions of Americans afloat during the pandemic expired Monday, setting up the abrupt cutoff of assistance to 7.5 million as the delta variant rattles the pandemic recovery.
The end of the aid came without objection from Biden or his top economic advisers, who have become caught in a political fight over the benefits and are now banking on other federal help and a pickup this fall in hiring to keep vulnerable families from foreclosure and food lines.
Biden now hopes for a post-Labor Day reframing of the national conversation toward his twin domestic goals of passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill and pushing through a Democrats-only expansion of the social safety net.
White House officials are eager to shift Biden’s public calendar toward issues that are important to his agenda and that they believe are top of mind for Americans.
“I think you can expect the president to be communicating over the coming weeks on a range of issues that are front and center on the minds of the American people,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
“Certainly you can expect to hear from him more on his Build Back Better agenda, on COVID and his commitment to getting the virus under control, to speak to parents and those who have kids going back to school.”
During the chaotic Afghanistan evacuation, the White House was central in explaining the consequences of Biden’s withdrawal decision and the effort to evacuate Americans and allies from the country. Now, officials want to put the State Department and other agencies out front on the efforts to assist stranded Americans and support evacuees, while Biden moves on to other topics.
It’s in part a reflection of an unspoken belief inside the White House that for all the scenes of chaos in Afghanistan, the public backs his decision, and it will fade from memory by the midterm elections.
Instead, the White House is gearing up for a legislative sprint to pass more than $4 trillion in domestic funding that will make up much of what Biden hopes will be his first-term legacy before the prospects of major lawmaking seize up in advance of the 2022 races.
The $1.9 trillion economic aid package Biden signed in March included extended and expanded benefits for unemployed workers, including a weekly $300 federal supplement to state jobless payments, additional weeks of assistance for the long-term unemployed and the extension of a special program to provide benefits to so-called gig workers who traditionally do not qualify for unemployment benefits.
Monday’s expiration means that 7.5 million will lose benefits, and another 3 million will lose the weekly $300 supplement.
Republicans and smallbusiness owners have assailed the extension of aid, contending that it has held back the economic recovery and fueled a labor shortage by discouraging people from looking for work.
Liberal Democrats and progressive groups have pushed for another round of aid, saying millions of Americans remain in need of help.
Biden and his advisers have pointedly refused to call on Congress to extend the benefits further, a decision that reflects the prevailing view of the recovery inside the administration and the president’s desire to shift his political focus to winning support for his broader economic agenda.
While Biden may want to turn the page, though, aides are mindful that the crises are not done with him.
Biden plans to speak this week on efforts to contain the delta variant and protect kids in schools. His administration continues to face criticism for his decision to pull troops from Afghanistan before all U.S. citizens and allies could get out.
According to White House officials, Biden and his team have maintained conversations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about the president’s legislative agenda.
His team held more than 130 calls and meetings with members of Congress, their chiefs of staff and aides on the infrastructure bill and spending package, and his administration has held over 90 meetings with legislative staff on crafting the reconciliation bill.