During his inauguration speech, US President Joe Biden pledged to be president of all Americans, but an analytical view of his ambitious legislative agenda, and how it was dealt with in Congress, especially by Republicans, in addition to the nature of appointments to senior positions in his administration, indicates Biden's great disregard for the Republicans so far. .
An early pledge of unity
“This is America’s Day… this is Democracy Day. America has been tested again and risen to the challenge.”… “With unity, we can do great things together, important things, and we can correct mistakes.”… “We will make America, once again, strength Leading the good in the world. "
With these words, and others like them, US President Joe Biden tried during his first 100 days in office to extend his hands to the congressional Republicans, at a time when the country is suffering from deep political divisions, which included supporters of former President Donald Trump's storming of the Capitol building on January 6. A majority of Republicans reject the 2020 election results.
This recent presidential election resulted in a great division and polarization after Biden won the votes of 81.4 million voters (51.4%) compared to 74.2 million for Trump (47%).
Some observers considered that Biden's calls clashed with the Republican opposition still lining up with President Trump, his continued control of the party, as well as a democratic opposition represented by the progressive left wing of the party.
Biden's appointment of Christine Clark as responsible for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department sparked Republican protest (French)
Break out of a presidential tradition
President Biden has not yet chosen a single Republican within his administration team, despite his pledge during the election campaign to restore unity among the various factions of the people and to be president of all Americans.
Biden broke a tradition followed by most previous presidents in nominating politicians from the rival party to join the ruling administration, and occupying one of the top jobs in the administration.
Former President Donald Trump has appointed two Democrats, Gary Cohen and Peter Navarro, to head his economic team, and Trump has appointed his Democratic friend, Stephen Mnuchin, as Treasury secretary.
Mnuchin's appointment in 2017 came just months after he donated financially to Kamala Harris' campaign as she ran for a California seat in the Senate.
The former Presidents, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush, also had one or more members in their ministerial team.
President Biden's reluctance to include a Republican as his administration stands in stark contrast to his comments during the election campaign or during his inaugural speech on January 20.
Biden said in his inauguration speech, "Even though I am a Democrat, I will be an American president, and I will work hard for those who did not support me .. This is the president's mission, to represent all of us, not just our base or our party."
Rather than selecting Republicans within his administration, the Biden administration included many liberal left-wing figures that are not receiving any support among Republicans.
For example, Republicans vehemently objected to the selection of Kristin Clark to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.
At her confirmation hearing in the Senate, Mrs. Clark backed away from her previous support for the scrapping movement, but failed to convince Republicans that she was not anti-police.
Biden’s choice of Nera Tanden, another Democratic and liberal activist, to run the White House Office of Management and Budget, represented Republican fierce opposition due to her offensive tweets to Republican politicians, which forced Biden to withdraw his candidacy for her.
Legislation without a republican vote
Republican Party leaders objected to Biden's plans to revive the US economy and lift it from the recession caused by the spread and repercussions of the "Covid-19" virus, which amounted to $ 1.9 trillion, and they also objected to his proposal to reform the crumbling infrastructure system estimated at two trillion dollars.
Biden's negotiations with Republican leaders in Congress did not result in any progress, and the Economic Support Act was passed without any Republican approval.
The vote in both houses of Congress did not witness any pattern beyond party affiliation except in the case of legislation against hate crimes against Asian Americans.
The rigid voting pattern on the party’s plans, and the Democrats ’poor numerical advantage in Congress, reflected Biden’s failure to convince any Republicans of his agenda that they deemed to ignore their interests.
Political commentators in Washington raise a question related to Biden’s strategy, which he ignores the Republicans with, and whether it expresses a calculated and intended strategy on his part.
Biden has many Republican friends in the Senate, where he served for 30 years.
This prompted Republican Senator Susan Cullen to say, "I have received 4 calls from President Biden since his election, and we are going back to this sharp polarization. I want him to be successful, and the best way to succeed is to resist gravity to the left in the Democratic Party."
Democrats have proposed abolishing the disruption mechanism entrenched in the work of Congress (Al-Jazeera)
The dilemma of the majority of sixty Sheikhs
Biden faces a dilemma in passing laws requiring a 60-vote majority from the Senate’s 100 members, not to mention that Republican lawmakers have used Filibuster in many cases.
Biden does not have any choice in front of the ambitious issues whose legislation requires 60 votes to be passed into law, except that he convinces Republicans that it is in their interest to pass these legislation as well, which he has failed in so far, and this has prompted some Democrats to propose an amendment to abolish the entrenched obstruction mechanism in the work of Congress. .
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina considered that the Democrats ’attempt to repeal the right of suspension is“ the worst manifestation of the seizure of power in order to pass legislation to increase the number of Supreme Court judges, and the administration of the presidency of Joe Biden does not solve the problems so far, this is the biggest attempt to seize power I see in my life".
Graham considered Biden a good man, but he is subject to the influence of the radical leftist movement in the party.
The specter of former President Trump also remains an impediment to the cooperation of some Republicans with Biden, and the increasing influence of the right-wing populist movement among Republicans raises the cost of cooperation with Biden, especially for those members who have presidential ambitions in 2024 or who face congressional elections next year.
Left stream ghost
Biden does not agree with the leftist trend in the Democratic Party on many issues, especially the idea of providing health insurance for all Americans. Rather, he wants on his part to expand the "Obama Care" program and provide through it a government alternative, and to bring the eligibility age for free medical care for the elderly to 60 years old. Years old instead of 65 years old.
At the beginning of Biden’s rule, progressive representative in the party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, questioned in an interview with MSNBC, saying that she “expects a long-term battle within the party, and that the ministerial appointments will represent a way to gauge Biden’s ideological core.” It represents the pressure of the left-wing party on Biden.
Many commentators expected Biden to find himself in trouble between the left wing of the Democratic Party, and his good relationship with the Republicans.
Many Americans hope that President Biden's long experience, during which he spent 5 decades in politics, will help bridge and reduce the division among Americans.
During the 50 years, Biden spent more than 30 years in the Senate, and worked with top leaders of the Republican Party, including Senator Mitch McConnell, the current leader of the Republican majority in the House.
Several non-partisan issues require the two parties to work together, from combating the continuing repercussions of the spread of the Corona virus to facing the economic decline due to the pandemic, to dealing with health care programs and climate change, not to mention the dilemma of reforming police behavior, tax issues and arms rights.
After nearly 100 days of his rule, Biden did not receive any praise from Republicans, while Rep. Cortez considered that President Biden performed more than excellent during the first 100 days of his rule.
"The Biden administration and President Biden have definitely exceeded the expectations that progressives had," Cortez, seen as the leader of the party's left-wing, said during a hypothetical meeting.