Some in Washington determined never to let a crisis go to waste: Reporter’s Notebook

It is a cliché in Washington to say that you should never spoil a crisis.

But politics is politics.

And, as cynical as it sounds, it means you should never let a fit go to waste.

Hurricane Ida crossed the Gulf Coast. Cut in the south. The post-tropical depression then bombarded the northeast with historic rainfall, causing deadly and unprecedented flooding.

President Biden, Congressional Democrats, and even some Republicans are reshaping Hurricane Ida as a rationale for Congress to approve the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Democrats will certainly use Ida as a reason to approve the $ 3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” measure. It is therefore natural that the president deploys this sentence, in the aftermath of a monster storm, in a region that is in dire need of reconstruction.

“It’s not about being a Democrat or a Republican,” Biden said during a stopover in Louisiana on Friday. “We have to rebuild better than before.”

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In these bills are projects for bridges and highways, high-speed Internet access for rural areas, money to modernize the energy network. Members of the Biden administration have suggested the bills could help the country weather future storms that are increasingly fierce, violent and costly.

“We have very old infrastructure across this country. We have to work on rebuilding it. Rebuild it stronger so that it can be more resilient to these future threats,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said on Fox News Sunday “.

And it’s just not the Democrats. Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., Was instrumental in designing the bipartisan infrastructure package.

“If there is anything that underlines the importance of hardening the network, improving oath and water, flood mitigation and coastal restoration, it is this storm,” Cassidy said on Fox.

It is possible that Democrats (and yes, Republicans) will be pushing for immediate hurricane relief to the infrastructure bill or the larger, more comprehensive spending plan.

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“We should move this as quickly as possible,” said Representative Troy Carter, D-La., En route to a meeting with Biden to go over the damage caused by the hurricane. “We should move the issues of the infrastructure bill forward rather than get caught up in the semantics of calling it hard or soft infrastructure. This is about improving the lives of Louisiana and Americans.”

It will all come down to one month: September.

“It’s a tough month because there are so many pressing issues on the Democrats’ agenda,” said Darrell West of the Brookings Institution. “And these are tough issues, where the moderates clash with the progressives. Biden’s approval rating has plummeted. It will be difficult to keep the Democrats together in September.”

It always comes down to math. Some Republicans will support the infrastructure bill. But Democrats will have to bear the brunt of the $ 3.5 trillion bill. It’s unclear how the parties can tie hurricane aid to either of these packages. In addition, Congress must avoid a government shutdown by October 1. And, there will soon be pressure from Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans argue they won’t help with this.

Democrats could crush all of these proposals into one mega-bill – or split it up. It’s really not clear at this point.

But Democrats will certainly use the storm as a justification to push through their big policy initiatives.

Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., recently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. Manchin urged colleagues to put the brakes on social spending bill until it has “more clarity” on why Congress chooses to ignore severe effects of inflation and debt on existing government programs.

The editorial was a classic Manchin movement.

First, Manchin voted to support the $ 3.5 trillion budget framework for the plan – which was nothing more than a shell. Nothing has really changed since Manchin voted yes to increase the budget for the spending program. Lawmakers and top congressional advisers are filling in the details of the $ 3.5 trillion plan as we speak. Democratic leaders hope they can hang the legislative meat on the bone by September 15.

But here is Manchin’s ploy: to protest what his party is doing – even though he supported the passage of the bill at the current point in the first place. Then suggest that there was something in the package that he objected to. This presents the perspective of Manchin shaking the cage of the Democratic establishment. Manchin could then get a last-minute concession that allows him to vote yes.

It’s exactly the same tactic Manchin used with the Democrats’ $ 1.9 trillion COVID bill in March – except Manchin protested much later in the process and almost derailed the bill.

But Manchin’s machinations in March underscored how important his vote is to Democrats in a 50-50 Senate. He controls most of the cards.

Manchin faced the wrath of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., on Twitter.

“Manchin has weekly meetings with Exxon and is one of many senators who give lobbyists their pens to write so-called ‘bipartisan’ fossil fuel bills. It’s killing people. Our people. At least 12 last night,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the morning after a post-tropical Ida ravaged New York City. “Fed up with this ‘bipartisan corruption masquerading as lucid moderation.’

Let’s break this down:

It is natural to have two wings of a conflicting political party when trying to advance a major political agenda. It happens all the time with Republicans. It’s no surprise that moderate Democrats are suspected by liberal Democrats. Ocasio-Cortez sees how the storm ravaged his city. She’ll understandably use the storm to advocate for the massive spending package – even as she looks askance (and has from the start) at the bipartisan coalition of senators who made up the infrastructure package.

The Liberals are concerned that the bill (s) are too biased in favor of Manchin and the moderates. And, at the same time, Manchin will try to get something out of these negotiations that works for him.

You can bet Troy Carter and other members of the Louisiana delegation will do the same.

“One bill cannot pass without the other,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., of the infrastructure bill and the social spending program. “Some senators prefer one. Some senators prefer the other. What I said was we have to come together and spend both. “

September may well define Biden’s domestic political legacy. And, the August debacle in Afghanistan could certainly define the president’s foreign policy legacy. Democrats are angry with the way the administration has messed up Afghanistan. But ironically, Afghanistan could help Biden in Congress on the home front.

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“Crises can keep people together,” said Darrell West. “The president can say ‘it’s all on the line. We have to stand united or the Republicans will devour us. Democrats have virtually no margin. They can hardly lose any lawmakers on these major bills. So if they are lucky, the party will stand together and that will put it in a position to pass major legislation. “

No one ever hopes Afghanistan will implode the way it did to help Democrats carry out the rest of their agenda. But Washington’s experienced hands are aware of the political dynamics. Democrats know they can’t let too many internal struggles derail the agenda – especially since Afghanistan has gone so badly.

As it is often said, never let a crisis go to waste.