Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:46 pm
The semiconductor bill, USPS bill, and the proposal to ban Congress and federal judges from stock trading all have bipartisan support and show how Biden has brought bipartisanship back to American politics.
As John Harwood tweeted:
taken together, the USPS bill, the pending semiconductor bill and the already-enacted infrastructure law would represent a solid set of bipartisan achievements for this Congress and president https://t.co/ggUtXsJxSe
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— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 9, 2022
The infrastructure bill is delivering the jobs that Biden promised. The bill to make semiconductor chips in the US is part of a bipartisan piece of legislation to increase American competitiveness, and the bill to strengthen the Postal Service will literally save the USPS and end the effort to privatize mail delivery.
The fact that House Democrats are getting ready to ban stock trading in a move that even Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy supports, and has bipartisan support in the Senate is a sign that Biden was right. Congress can still function in a bipartisan way to get things done.
One or two of these achievements would be a big deal for a president. President Biden will likely end up with four big bipartisan wins in his first two years.
Bipartisanship in Congress started to crumble in the 1990s. By the time George W. Bush couldn’t get bipartisan immigration reform through Congress, partisanship had calcified, and the nation has spent more than a decade with a partisan Congress, and Republican Senate obstruction as a constant strategy.
President Biden was mocked for believing that bipartisanship could still work in Congress. Biden’s biggest problem hasn’t been Republicans as much as Democratic Sens. Manchin and Sinema blocking key policy priorities.
Biden has reshaped the presidency in perhaps a way that only he could pull off, but his belief in bipartisanship has so far been rewarded.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
