[ad_1]
Joe Biden returned to Washington this week and a snowstorm paralyzed the U.S. capital. This is the appropriate background for a president who is starting to fight multiple crises in the new year, from the surge in coronavirus infections to Stagnant Economic agenda and Increasing tension With Russia.
Omicron variants caused Record number Daily infections put the Biden administration on the defensive immediately, especially around its decision to halve the time that asymptomatic people must be quarantined (from 10 days to 5 days), resulting in a serious shortage of testing and confusion.
On Tuesday, Biden was forced to warn again about the difficult times ahead. This is a humble moment for the president who took office about a year ago. He has high hopes for containing the virus, and he was elected largely because he promised to deal with the epidemic more competently than his predecessor. sick.
“Guys, I know we are all tired and frustrated with the pandemic. The coming weeks will be full of challenges,” he said in a speech at the White House. “We will get through it. We will get through it together.”
Just as Biden’s polling data began to recover from the sharp decline, the pandemic returned. This decline began with the botched troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in August and lasted until the second half of 2021.
On the economic front, the strong rebound was hindered by highs inflation And supply chain disruptions have cast a shadow over the improvement in the labor market and rising stock prices, and it has also discouraged voters’ perceptions of Biden’s handling of the economy.
At the same time, the White House suffered a major setback last month, with key Democratic Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. walked away From negotiations to advance Biden’s flagship 1.75-ton “rebuild better” spending bill.
On Tuesday, Manchin made it clear that he believes that the possibility of resuming legislative negotiations is small, and told reporters that there has been “no dialogue” since he declared his opposition to the plan. “I feel as strong today as I was then,” he added.
James Lucier, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said that he thinks it is still possible for the Democrats to pass a spending bill worth about US$1.5 trillion, but warned: “The failure to reach an agreement every week will make it increasingly difficult for people to see this. happened.”
At the same time, Biden’s foreign policy agenda has been dominated by the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, testing the alliance with Europe, and the government’s commitment to combat authoritarian aggression.
Each of these difficulties may make it more difficult for Biden and Congressional Democrats to prevent Republicans from winning control of Congress in the November midterm elections, a situation that would greatly limit the president’s legislation for the remainder of his term. Ambition.
Ben Koltun, an analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, a Washington consulting firm, said: “Biden’s most important task is to show why the president with the least experience in governance in the United States was elected as the president with the most experience in governance.”
Corton stated that Biden must “reach an agreement with Senator Joe Manchin on “rebuilding better”, so that “the United States is in a good position to deal with Russia” and provide “some ostensible Omicron and inflation strategies.”
He added: “Otherwise, it’s a statement that Biden is not leading, but Manchin, Russia and Omicron.”
As negotiations on Biden’s economic plan have stalled, Democratic leaders in Congress have turned their attention to legislation that protects voting rights—trying to counter the Republican efforts to restrict access to the ballot box in many states.
This push coincided with the fatal attack on the U.S. Capitol by a group of mobs supporting former President Donald Trump on January 6 last year. Biden is expected to speak at the U.S. Capitol on the anniversary of the attack on Thursday.
But ensuring the passage of voting rights legislation is likely to be a futile task: Republicans are firmly opposed, while moderate Democrats, such as Manchin and Arizona Senator Kelsten Sinema, are opposed to changing Senate rules. Be cautious so that the measure can be passed by a simple majority.
Although some Democratic strategists and legislators say that advancing legislation is important to inspire the party’s foundation, others warn that pushing a bill that may fail may be politically counterproductive.
“What Democrats really need right now is not some kind of short-term’overload’ campaign. It raises expectations that they may not be able to meet,” said Ed Kilgore, a senior political analyst for the Democratic Party, in a statement this week. Wrote in a column in New York Magazine.
He added: “They need a way to communicate that they-and this country-are in an ongoing struggle between two very different concepts about the future of the United States. In this struggle, the separation or disengagement of Democratic voters Disappointment will guarantee failure.”
But the White House is still trying to focus its attention on the dinner table.On Monday, Biden touted his government’s plan to control inflation, especially Meat pricesHe is expected to publish his December employment report on Friday, which may be the last glimpse of how the labor market recovered before the economy was hit by Omicron.
Andrew Bishop, global director of policy research at Washington-based consulting firm Signum, said that Biden may not be “doomed to fail” as his current approval ratings suggest. Signum pointed out that his approval rating is still higher than that of Trump, and the decline has not been as dramatic as Barack Obama’s first year in office.
Bishop said: “Biden is more likely to be welcomed by centrist voters than some of his predecessors, and it can be said that it is possible to regain independent support sooner.”
[ad_2]
Source link
