On June 8, President Biden told the lead negotiator on the infrastructure bill, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) that the divide on the infrastructure bill was too large, and he closed down negotiations. Capito said that Biden “ultimately chose not to accept the very robust and targeted infrastructure package, and instead, end our discussions.” On Fox today, she implied Biden was not serious: “I’m a bit disappointed and frustrated that the White House really kept moving the ball on me and then just finally brought me negotiations that were untenable and then ended the negotiations all together.” They came down to a $1 trillion package and then said they “didn’t really mean that.”
Biden consulted with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who afterwards said: “We all know as a caucus we will not be able to do all the things that the country needs in a totally bipartisan – a bipartisan way.” Biden spoke with two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), plus Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (LA), and a new meeting of “bipartisans” began. It included Republican Senators Mitt Romney, Bill Cassidy, Rob Portman and Roger Wicker, along with Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema. Both sides are arguing over minimal “plumbing” repair jobs for the country, while “Rome is burning.” Of note, Senator Wicker was interrupted in his descriptions of a minimal $600 billion package that is designed to need no taxes, and was asked about how inflation would factor in, given the debt service on $27-28 trillion. Well, “debt risks becoming unmanageable” are a real problem.
