President Biden is facing increased criticism from other Democrats over his handling of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill currently gridlocked at Congress.
The President has come under fire recently for the way his administration has dealt with the evacuation from Afghanistan and the southern border problem.
However, the latest round of criticism being levelled at Biden is over his dealings with the Democrat-held Congress and comes from allies within his own party.
Both the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package have stalled as a result of in-fighting between Democrats.
The Democrat’s nominee for Governor in Virginia, Terry McAuliffe (pictured with Biden on July 23, 2021) has admitted his frustration at the slow pace of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill
The most recent criticism of President Biden has come from the Democrat’s nominee for Governor in Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, the gubernatorial nominee said: ‘We have got frustration with Washington.
‘Why haven’t we passed this infrastructure bill? It passed the U.S. Senate with 69 votes two months ago.
‘I have been very straight on television. We’re tired of the chitty chat up in Washington. Get in a room and get this figured out. … They’re paid to get up in Washington, get this done.’
President Biden is facing increased criticism from other Democrats over his handling of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill currently gridlocked at Congress
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif. also recently criticized the President over his pitch for the infrastructure bill, saying that it was a priority for him, if not for the President, who he said spent more time talking about the reconciliation package instead.
And speaking recently to the New York Times, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla. said that the way Biden is currently operating in office doesn’t reflect ‘the skills I know he must have from his years as a legislator.’
After months of wrangling over the size and makeup of the package – which would fund paid leave, pre-K, seek to lower prescription drug costs, and tack new benefits onto Medicare – just a tenth of the country knows a lot about what’s in it.
Another third say they have a ‘general sense and some specifics,’ according to a A CBS News / YouGov poll released Sunday.
Fewer, 28 per cent, say they have a ‘general sense’ of what’s in the bill without knowing specifics, with 29 per cent saying they don’t know what is in it – meaning a majority don’t know any specifics about the president’s signature plan.
What the broader public has absorbed is a fight about the top-line number – amid a standoff between caucus leaders and a sliver of centrist Democrats who want to trim the $3.5 trillion overall number.
Asked what they have heard about it, 59 per cent said the cost, 58 per cent said tax hikes on the wealthy, 40 per cent said lower Medicare drug prices, and 40 per cent said new dental and hearing coverage for the federal drug program for the elderly.
Other lesser known provisions establish paid leave, provide pre-K support, and extend a child-tax credit.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, the gubernatorial nominee said: ‘We have got frustration with Washington. ‘Why haven’t we passed this infrastructure bill? It passed the U.S. Senate with 69 votes two months ago’
Aside from the chaos in Congress, Biden has also been criticized for the way he has handled the southern border issue as migrant numbers continue to swell.
Former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke said that ‘None of this should have been a surprise to our government,’ while Rep. Susan Wild, D-Penn. expressed his disappointment as not seeing any results in terms of dealing with the issue.
The criticism comes after Biden’s approval rating among voters fell to 38 per cent in a poll released on Friday – continuing a downward trend which began in June.
The figures, which also showed 53 percent said they disapprove of how Biden has handled the presidency, according to the Quinnipiac University poll, represent the lowest rating Biden has received in his time in office to date.
Responding on Saturday to the President’s latest approval ratings, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pinned at least part of the blame on the pandemic and the 20 per cent of unvaccinated Americans.
A majority don’t know any specifics about what is in Biden’s plan, according to a CBS/YouGov poll
When asked at a press briefing about the figures, Paski said: ‘I would say that this is a really tough time in our country. We’re still battling Covid and a lot of people thought we’d be through it – including us.
‘Because of the rise of the Delta variant, because of the fact that even though it was a vaccine that was approved under a Republican administration, even though we now have full FDA approval and even though it’s widely available across the country we still have a quarter of the country – less than that, 20 percent of the country – who’ve decided not to get vaccinated.
‘No question that’s having an impact,’ Psaki said, adding that, ‘as the President has said, the buck stops with him’ before signing off.
Three weeks ago, the same poll found that 42 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved.