$3.5 Trillion: Will Biden and Pelosi’s Tax and Spending Spree Pass?

Infighting among Democrats is still threatening to sink the Biden-Harris administration’s legislative agenda. This week, Democrats will vote on three major bills: the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, and the Democrats’ reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree.

Disarray in the Democrat Party could kill some or all of those priorities. And those priorities couldn’t be more opposite. Progressives are saying that the government isn’t spending enough money, while moderates are scared that spending that much money will doom their reelection chances. Progressives are prioritizing pleasing the radical activists, while moderates are focused on surviving the midterms. 

Politico: Pelosi and her leadership team had signaled for days that the vote could slip past Monday, with dozens of progressives threatening to block it without action on Biden’s separate multitrillion-dollar policy bill. But moderates have fiercely resisted a delay much longer than 24 hours, vowing to ditch the party-line talks altogether if leadership broke the commitment.

Biden and Democrats in Congress are desperate to avoid another embarrassment, as polls show Biden’s approval rating crashing and that voters would blame Democrats — who control the White House and both chambers of Congress — if the country defaults on its debt. 

Washington Post: Inaction on the domestic policy package also presents more immediate perils. With Biden’s approval rating slipping on the heels of his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and his ongoing struggles with immigration and the pandemic, Democrats in competitive races are starting to feel a drag.

Republicans, however, are united against the $3.5 trillion behemoth and will force Democrats to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling.

Politico: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised Thursday that Republicans will not support a debt ceiling hike, just as Democrats have signaled they plan to take a path that would require Republican support. “If our colleagues want to ram through yet another reckless tax and spending spree without our input, if they want all this spending and debt to be their signature legacy, they should leap at the chance to own every bit of it,” the Kentucky Republican said on the floor.

Bottom Line: Democrats may vote to implement the largest tax increase in a generation, spend trillions of dollars on their radical agenda and put the country on a path to default — all in one week. But Joe Biden’s inability to unify his party raises questions about the future of his legislative priorities.