‘There’s a lot of talk about disappointment in things we haven’t gotten done’: Biden admits his agenda is stalled and insists he was elected to UNITE the country after GOP ripped his ‘divisive’ Atlanta speech
- President Joe Biden admitted his agenda has gotten stuck as he gave an update Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure law
- ‘There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done,’ he noted. ‘We’re gonna get a lot of them done, I might add,’ the president added
- He then reiterated he was elected to ‘unite’ the country, after taking heat from Republicans who called his speech about voting rights in Georgia too divisive
- ‘I ran for president to unite the country,’ he said. ‘This bipartisan infrastructure law I signed a few months ago unites us around things we all depend on’
- The pivot to infrastructure comes after Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema refused to budge on filibuster reform, dooming passage of voting rights bills
- Biden also talked up his infrastructure accomplishment after the Supreme Court killed his order to have businesses vaccinate their employees
- The president is also suffering from low poll numbers, with one survey out this week saying his approval rating stood at just 33 per cent
President Joe Biden admitted his agenda has gotten stuck as he gave an update Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure law.
‘There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done,’ he noted. ‘We’re gonna get a lot of them done, I might add,’ the president added.
He then reiterated that he was elected to ‘unite’ the country, after taking heat from Republicans who called his Tuesday speech about voting rights in Georgia too divisive.
President Joe Biden admitted his agenda has gotten stuck as he gave an update Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure law. ‘There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done,’ he said. ‘We’re gonna get a lot of them done, I might add’
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (left), who’s overseeing the implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, introduced President Joe Biden (right) at an event on the White House’s campus Friday
‘I ran for president to unite the country,’ he said. ‘This bipartisan infrastructure law I signed a few months ago unites us around things we all depend on.’
‘Whether you’re in rural Kentucky or downtown Philadelphia, you should be able to turn on the faucet and drink clean water,’ the president continued.
As he gave his speech, First Lady Jill Biden was visiting parts of Kentucky that were destroyed by tornadoes last month, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was paying a visit to the City of Brotherly Love.
‘Students should be able to get the internet if they needed to do their homework at home instead of having to drive to a fast food parking lot. People need good jobs,’ Biden continued.
Biden read off a number of dollar amounts going toward highway modernization, ports, airports, clean water, internet and bridges.
He announced that the federal government would allow 100 per cent of federal funds to be used to rebuild certain ‘off-system bridges.’
Historically, state and local entities would need to chip in matching funds of at least 20 per cent.
Biden’s pivot to infrastructure came after a frustrating 48 hours for the White House – with moderate Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin refusing to budge on filibuster reform, essentially dooming passage of voting rights bills.
The Supreme Court also nixed Biden’s plan to make businesses with more than 50 employees vaccinate their workers.
A new poll this week also indicated that Biden’s approval rating with Americans had slipped to 33 per cent.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill was one of two large legislative accomplishments of the president’s first year.
The Democratic president was able to get the American Rescue Plan – a COVID-19 relief package – passed in March, and then the infrastructure bill done in November.
Biden hoped that a third package, the Build Back Better act, would also pass by Christmas, but it was derailed by Manchin.
Since then, Biden and Senate Democrats turned their attention to the voting bills – and while they’ll get votes in the Senate next week, are also likely doomed.
The Biden administration also got caught flat-footed going into the holiday season as the new omicron variant of COVID-19 surged and Americans complained about testing shortages.
During the 2020 election, Biden pledged to be a uniter. He pushed the idea that government can be competent and vowed to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
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