WASHINGTON — Negotiations over a multibillion-dollar infrastructure package have forced President Joe Biden to an inflection point where he must choose between his campaign promises of seeking bipartisan consensus and achieving major policy changes sought by the liberal wing of his party.
The emerging legislation — focused on an issue long seen as the most likely area of bipartisan compromise in a divided Washington — could be Biden’s only chance to earn Republican support for a major legislative initiative before next year’s midterm elections. It is also seen by liberals as one of a dwindling number of opportunities for Biden to get congressional funding for elements of his plan outside of roads, bridges and other forms of physical infrastructure.
“The clock is ticking, and the pressure is rising on the outside, because without any of the major investments, and the major proposals that Biden put forward in the American Jobs Plan, he won’t be able to fulfill many of the commitments he made to the left and even just to the American public,” said Christy Goldfuss, senior vice president of energy and environment policy at the Center for American Progress. “So that balancing act is very difficult.”
