Biden and Pelosi Burn Bridges During Bipartisan Infrastructure Talks

Immediately following the announcement from Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of 10 senators on an infrastructure compromise, Biden and Nancy Pelosi told reporters the deal is dead unless Democrats pass a $6 trillion partisan package to appease radical liberals within their party.

Fox News: “If this (bipartisan deal) is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it,” Biden said at the White House. “It’s in tandem.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said the narrow bipartisan bill on traditional infrastructure must be paired with a sweeping new spending bill that could reach $6 trillion in order to secure the necessary votes for passage. Biden backed their approach Thursday by saying he won’t sign one into law without the other.

Republicans immediately responded to the Democrats’ betrayal. Senator Lindsey Graham called it “extortion” and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said “that’s not the way to show you’re serious about getting a bipartisan outcome.”

Axios: “If he’s gonna tie them together, he can forget it!” Graham told Politico. “I’m not doing that. That’s extortion! I’m not going to do that. The Dems are being told you can’t get your bipartisan work product passed unless you sign on to what the left wants, and I’m not playing that game. There’s no way. You look like a f****ng idiot now. I don’t mind bipartisanship, but I’m not going to do a suicide mission.”

Biden and Democrats in Congress didn’t just burn bridges with Republicans, though. Progressives attacked the partisan bill as racist.

To pay for the bill, Democrats want $3 trillion in new corporate taxes, the largest tax hike since 1968. This second “human infrastructure” package wouldn’t spend much, if anything, on actual infrastructure. Most of the money would be spent on vastly expanding government agencies and entitlement programs.

Bottom Line: Joe Biden and the Democrats betrayed Republicans after they negotiated in good faith. Their $6 trillion liberal wishlist would dramatically expand the federal government and raise taxes by $3 trillion. That would add trillions more to the soaring national debt and further fuel inflation that Americans are already suffering from.