Biden team needs course correction

Had the president jettisoned everything that was going to be difficult to pass, he might have had a a better legislative batting average, but he would have wound up feuding with his party in Congress and beyond.

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January 24, 2022 - 9:44 AM

President Joe Biden (Oliver Contreras/Pool/Abaca Press/TNS)

The New York Times reports that President Joe Biden: “Will retreat from the tangle of day-to-day negotiations with members of his own party that have made him seem powerless to advance key priorities, according to senior White House advisers. The change is part of an intentional reset in how he spends his time, aimed at emphasizing his power to govern as president, rather than getting trapped in a series of congressional battles.”

With any luck, it’s just harmless spin. Presidency scholar Matthew Dickinson reacted to the Times report by saying that Biden “is likely to do better by continuing to try to engage with Congress.” Political scientist Matt Grossmann elaborated on Twitter: “With months to go with a trifecta, Biden’s plan is to disengage from Congress? I don’t think the problem was high levels of engagement. He is probably still needed to make whatever reconciliation deal is possible & sell it to his party.”

The truth is that the Democrats’ legislative record one year into Biden’s presidency isn’t bad given the context of strong partisan polarization and extremely narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress. That’s pending whatever happens to the sprawling reconciliation bill stuffed with programs addressing climate change, medical and child care, education, taxation, family leave and a whole lot more. It’s passed the House of Representatives but has, so far, fallen one vote short in the Senate.

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