Despite a promise to work across the aisle in a show of bipartisanship, Joe Biden may be coming to terms with the reality of the Senate that he now inherits. In his latest push for COVID-19 relief, Biden said that the stimulus package must pass immediately, regardless of bipartisanship.
One of the big challenges Biden has faced in his first full week as president was to push his proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill to aid Americans who have been financially affected by the pandemic. This has been met with concerns by Republican lawmakers while members of his own party are eager to pass the bill. Last Friday, Biden told the press that the stimulus package must be passed immediately, whether or not there is support from the Republicans.
“I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it. But the COVID relief has to pass — no ifs, ands, or buts,” said Biden.
However, Biden remains determined to gather support from the opposing party as well as members of his own political party. Biden has kept in touch with GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine since getting inaugurated. Collins shared that she has a closer relationship with Biden compared to Donald Trump. As for his own fellow Democrats, Biden has reached out to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, both lawmakers expressing their own concerns about the package.
It is not unusual for Biden to keep in touch with his former Senate colleagues as both White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri have noted. McCaskill shared that during Biden’s days as vice president, he was “workman-like” in terms of reaching out to Senators.
Meanwhile, Biden previously made a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to meet with wounded soldiers and thank the staff for their service. In a meeting with the hospital’s administrators, Biden thanked them for caring for his late son Beau Biden, who died in 2015.
“You’ve done a great deal for my family,” said Biden to the staff. “My son Beau, after a year in Iraq, came back with stage four glioblastoma. They took care of him with great grace and dignity.”