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White House press secretary Jen Psaki has brushed aside criticism that President Biden’s reliance on executive actions in his first week – a process that can be used to bypass Congress – is in contradiction with its promise of unity campaign.
Psaki argued that the more than 40 executive orders were part of Biden’s fulfillment of the commitments he made in the inaugural address.
“I would say first of all that part of the unification of the country is to solve the problems that the American people face and to work to reach the Democrats and Republicans to do just that,” Psaki said. “He’s had calls with Democratic and Republican members of Congress, a lot of them; he’s making more calls today.
Psaki continued, “He also ran with the commitment to take immediate action to deal with the pain and suffering that the American people were feeling, and that included reversing some of the prejudicial, harmful and sometimes harmful policies and actions. immoralities of the previous administration. But he is the first to tell you … that he will not act alone; that is why he has proposed a number of packages that he is actively working with members of both sides to move forward.
Republicans, many of whom praised then-President Donald Trump for his reliance on executive orders and actions, publicly pilloried Biden, accusing him of circumventing democratic processes in order to implement it. that Senator Marco Rubio, of R-Fla., called an “far left” agenda.
Psaki repeatedly suggested during Thursday afternoon’s press conference that the administration’s economic relief plan has broad support from the American public and that the White House is willing to work with lawmakers from both political parties. to get a bill passed. However, a number of Republicans already believe the $ 1.9 trillion proposal is far too expensive, and the Biden administration could face an uphill battle if it tries to push the package through a tightly divided Congress.
Psaki also rejected the idea that the administration was willing to split the clawback package into separate bills as part of negotiations with Congress.
“We are not trying to split the package. This is not a proposal from the White House. I spoke to the chair this morning. This is not our goal or our intention, ”Psaki said of Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill and the negotiations.
Although she did not rule out the idea that Democrats would push their agenda through budget reconciliation – a somewhat complicated parliamentary procedure that would allow Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority vote instead. of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Senate filibuster – Psaki argued that there is “no blood oath” for Republicans not to vote on a reconciliation plan and that their caucus is open to negotiations on the back-up plan.
“We are not going to do this in a piecemeal fashion or break a big package meant to solve the crisis we are facing,” Psaki said.
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