The Week
Are Senate Republicans trying to ‘drive a wedge’ between Biden and his staff during infrastructure negotiations?
Senate Republicans are “trying to drive a wedge” between President Biden and his staff during negotiations over the White House’s infrastructure proposal, political analyst Bill Scher argues, citing an email to the press from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.). Capito is leading the Republican effort to get Biden to cut down on his plan, which initially cost $2.25 trillion, but, as of Friday, sits at $1.7 trillion. Shrinking the total appeared to be a gesture of compromise, but it wasn’t well-received by the GOP, and Capito’s office took aim at Biden’s advisers, stating that the two sides have been growing further apart since they got involved. White House staff, meanwhile, insist they, just like Biden, genuinely want to reach across the aisle, Politico reports. This, from Capito’s office, should be parsed closely: “Based on today’s meeting, the groups seem further apart after two meetings with White House staff than they were after one meeting with President Biden.” Capito is trying to drive a wedge between Biden and his staff — Bill Scher (@billscher) May 22, 2021 If Scher’s reading of Capito’s statement is accurate, there so far doesn’t seem to be any inkling that the strategy is working. Read more at Politico. More stories from theweek.com5 riotously funny cartoons about GOP resistance to the January 6 CommissionWhy Emily Wilder got fired and Chris Cuomo didn’tAngelina Jolie stands perfectly still, unshowered, covered in bees for World Bee Day