It’s a safe bet that President Joe Biden will use his State of the Union address to brag about his many policy accomplishments over the last two years — and that the Democrats in the audience will respond with cheers. Many of Biden’s supporters argue that he can claim a truly exceptional degree of legislative success. According to the historical record, however, that’s quite an overstatement.
Biden can justifiably be pleased with the cooperation he received from Congress before the Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives last year, foreshadowing a far more turbulent relationship to come. Democrats took advantage of both of their annual opportunities to circumvent the Senate filibuster via the budget reconciliation process, passing economic stimulus legislation in early 2021 and a sweeping climate and health-care reform bill last summer. Biden also signed laws addressing an assortment of other issues (infrastructure, gun safety, same-sex marriage protection) with varying degrees of bipartisan support.
There’s nothing wrong with Democrats taking pride in this steady stream of policy-making. But their braggadocio has sometimes gone too far.
