The Biden-GOP infrastructure has a slow start

President BidenJoe Biden Manchin Throws Cold Water On Using Budget Reconciliation Moderate GOP Senators And Biden Clash At Start Of Infrastructure Debate Omar Rejects Biden Administrator For Continuing ‘Building Trump’s Xenophobic And Racist Wall’ MOREThe effort to get bipartisan support for its $ 2.25 infrastructure package has got off to a rocky start.

Her. Chris CoonsChris Andrew Coons On The Money: Biden says compromise is “inevitable” on infrastructure plan | Chance of a breakthrough on two parties? Democrats consider tax increases Coons says bipartisan infrastructure package will ‘likely’ be smaller, not fully funded Biden says compromise ‘inevitable’ on infrastructure plan MORE (D-Del.), A close ally of Biden, says there will only be one month set aside to make a deal with Republicans, and right now it’s a long way to go.

Biden is already sneaking with major moderates like Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret Collins Moderate GOP senators and Biden clash at start of infrastructure debate The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden, McConnell agree on vaccines, clash over infrastructure 2024 GOP White House hopefully leads opposition to Biden’s cabinet MORE (R-Maine).

And potential Republican partners such as Sens. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanModerate GOP senators and Biden clash at start of Hillicon Valley infrastructure debate: Intel to scrap threats hearing under Trump | New Small Business Coalition to Push Antitrust Action | Amazon Backs Corporate Tax Increase to Pay Infrastructure Senators Demand Update on SolarWinds Investigations, Microsoft Hack MORE (R-Ohio) and Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Wellons Moore Capito Mediocre GOP Senators And Biden Collide At Start Of Infrastructure Debate US Infrastructure: You Get What You Pay For Republicans, Don’t Think Biden Really Wants To Work With Them MORE (RW.Va.) have rejected Biden’s proposal to go “far beyond” the traditional definition of infrastructure.

It’s not clear how much Biden is really focused on winning GOP support.

In the Senate, Democrats are expected to have budget rules that allow them to move the package without Republican votes. Under budget reconciliation rules, the package could avoid a senatorial filibuster.

That’s how Biden quickly gained approval for the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package without any GOP support.

The White House has also discussed the idea that if the infrastructure package gets support from Republicans in polls, it could be described as bipartisan, even if GOP lawmakers don’t support it.

Republicans say they can see the writing on the wall.

“It is clear that Biden’s government wants to immediately put points on the board and create momentum and a sense of inevitability regarding its legislative achievements,” said Ron Bonjean, a GOP strategist and former leadership. “The only way to do that in this kind of deadlock atmosphere is to go through the reconciliation process and rail Republicans.”

Consensus legislation will take time, he added. “Biden currently has very strong credibility with the American people. His opinion polls are very high. He doesn’t feel the need to make room for Republicans at this point as it won’t affect his status across the country.

“We will likely continue to see such a pattern in the future,” he predicted.

Minority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Moderate GOP Senators and Biden Clash At Start Of Infrastructure Debate Encouragement: Modernizing The Standard The Memo: Boehner’s Blasts Don’t MORE Current GOP (R-Ky.) Predicts that Biden’s Build Back Better plan won’t pick up GOP support, an opinion shared by senior aides with other GOP senators.

This puts the spotlight back on Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinManchin Throws Cold Water On Using Budget Alignment On The Money: Biden Says Compromise Is ‘Inevitable’ For Infrastructure Plan | Chance of a breakthrough on two parties? Democrats Consider Tax Hikes Coons Says Bipartite Infrastructure Package ‘Likely’ Will Be Smaller, Not Fully Funded MORE (W.Va.), the main swing vote in the Democratic caucus.

Democrats will have to win Manchin’s support if they want to pass legislation through the Senate without support from the GOP, as they couldn’t afford to lose a single Democratic vote.

Manchin, in an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Wednesday, expressed concern about plans to move Biden’s infrastructure agenda through the budget reconciliation process, urging his party to work with the GOP.

“We should all be concerned about how the budget reconciliation process is being used by both sides to stifle the debate about the main issues facing our country,” he wrote.

The Senate’s Democratic aides and strategists personally admit that Biden’s infrastructure plan will not win Republican votes. But they say it’s important that he make a public effort to reach out to the Republicans so that Manchin and other moderates have political cover to vote for a partisan law.

“Schumer can say we can work in a twofold way, but it’s Republicans who don’t want to,” said a Democratic aide, referring to the Senate majority leader. Charles SchumerChuck Schumer McCarthy Asks FBI, CIA For Briefing After Two Men On Terror Watch List Stopped At Lake Superior State University Border To Be First To Offer Cannabis Chemistry Scholarship Capitol Police Officer Killed In Car Attack Will in Rotunda in honor (DN.Y.).

“It would be great [to get] done something in a two-pronged way, ”the assistant added, but it became clear to many Democratic senators that the odds of passing a two-party infrastructure bill are about zero after no Republicans voted in favor of the COVID relief plan in both chambers .

Democrats say they can bolster their argument against Manchin and other moderates on the fence through other bills with wide public support, such as legislation expanding background checks for arms sales or bringing the US’s competitiveness with China to the Senate floor.

Even those popular accounts face an uncertain prospect of getting the 10 Republican votes it takes to get a filibuster. If they don’t get enough GOP support to succeed, it will bolster Schumer’s argument that Democrats should unify and approve Biden’s infrastructure plan by simple majority under budget reconciliation, aides and strategists say.

“There’s nothing that gets enough Republicans and Democrats to pass these big questions on,” said a Senate Democratic strategist, who said a bill addressing China’s growing threat probably has the best chance of getting 60 votes in the Senate. to gain, although that legislation has yet to be made.

The strategist added that Biden does not need to drastically downsize his infrastructure proposal to please Republicans, as his approval numbers remain strong and polls show strong support for a major infrastructure initiative.

The calculation the Republicans will have to make is look at Biden’s poll figures. Their attacks don’t seem to last. They don’t seem to resonate outside of Fox News, ”said the strategist.

Biden scored a 61 percent job approval score in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published last week. A Reuters-Ipsos survey of 1,005 Americans, conducted April 7 and April 8, found that Biden had a 56 percent approval rate.

A Hill-HarrisX poll last month found that 54 percent of registered voters believe infrastructure should be a priority, and a CNN poll last month found that 61 percent of Americans had passed the US $ 1.9 trillion bailout plan. Biden supported.

Strong poll numbers seem to have encouraged Biden in his interactions with Republicans, and GOP senators don’t appreciate it.

The president and a group of moderate Republicans traded fire on Wednesday when Biden criticized GOP senators for digging in their heels during the pandemic aid talks earlier this year.

“I would have been willing to compromise, but they didn’t. They didn’t move an inch. Not an inch, ”he told reporters.

That elicited a sharp response from the 10 senators who met him at the White House on Feb. 1 to investigate the possibility of a compromise on COVID-19 aid.

“The administration flatly dismissed our efforts as wholly inadequate to justify its own strategy,” they fired back in a joint statement signed by Sens. Portman, Capito, Collins, Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann Murkowski Moderate GOP senators and Biden clash at start of infrastructure debate Biden appoints Deputy Home Affairs as top lawyer 2024 GOP White House hopefully leads opposition to Biden cabinet MORE (R-Alaska), Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt Romney Moderate GOP senators and Biden clash at start of infrastructure debate Biden government doesn’t discuss boycott of Beijing Olympics: White House Biden touts jobs in March as recovery accelerates MORE (R-Utah) and five others.

Coons, a close ally of Biden, says the president will give Republicans time until the end of May to agree to a bipartisan infrastructure deal and then move on, with or without them.

“I believe President Biden is open to negotiating the options in the coming month,” Coons told Punchbowl News.

If there’s no deal in June, Coons said, “Democrats just roll it up in a big package and move it.”

Updated at 8:12 PM