‘Everybody is frustrated,’ except for Biden, about agenda delays

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President Joe Biden flew to Delaware aboard Marine One Saturday. After a turbulent week in Congress, the president plans to meet with the Senate next week to discuss the debt ceiling and other agenda items.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Politics
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Biden told reporters that he hopes Republicans don’t go so far as to filibuster a plan to raise the debt limit, calling the potential move «irresponsible.»

«That would be totally unconscionable,» Biden said, before flying home to Delaware on Saturday.

Ultimately, Biden believes both bills should be able to pass independently, without reconciliation, but that the support isn’t there just yet.

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a Friday letter to Democratic colleagues that she believes the infrastructure bill will pass once both parties can agree upon a reconciliation bill.

As for the debt limit debate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also called for reconciliation on Thursday, not «partisan jams,» to keep things moving forward.

«The conclusion to draw from this week is very clear: Clumsy efforts at partisan jams do not work,» McConnell told the Senate on Thursday. «We’re able to fund the government today because the majority accepted reality. The same thing will need to happen on the debt limit next.»

The Build Back Better agenda — which aims to create jobs, cut taxes and lower costs for working families, with a focus on climate change mitigation, according to the White House — will be paid for by high-income taxes and wealthy corporations. Meanwhile, the $3.5 infrastructure package, one of Biden’s top priorities, intends to improve America’s roads, bridges, power grids, internet and more.