For months, the bulk of Joe Biden’s political agenda has been stalled, sometimes by his own reticence to make anything happen, and other times by moderate Democrats who just can’t seem to get behind the radical policies being put forth by the administration.
Of all of the concerns that these centrists have, reckless spending is high on the list. (Just watch any PAC-funded political advertisements to see just how big a topic this truly is).
Now, as Biden desperately needs to notch something in the “win” column, a pair of these stalwarts have succumbed to pressure from inside their party, and the GOP is not happy.
Republicans aren’t pleased with the prospect of a revived version of Build Back Better after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced they came to an agreement on a reconciliation package.
While some details of the reconciliation package are unclear, Manchin said in a statement that the bill will contain a minimum 15% tax on companies worth more than $1 billion and will also have investments in energy, which include nuclear, renewables and fossil fuels.
Manchin touted the bill as a way to reduce inflation, but Republicans don’t see it that way.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., commented on the announcement, tweeting, “Build Back Broke.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a tweet said the reconciliation package contains “giant tax hikes” that would “kill thousands of American jobs.”
“Democrats have already crushed American families with historic inflation. Now they want to pile on giant tax hikes that will hammer workers and kill many thousands of American jobs. First they killed your family’s budget. Now they want to kill your job too,” McConnell wrote.
This, all while the Biden White House continues to fail to curb the out-of-control inflation that’s been putting pressure on American wallets ever since he took office.
