Senate progressives warn Joe Biden he needs their votes too

Progressives begin to remember to Joe BidenGovernment said Senator Joe Manchin (W. Va.) isn’t the only Democrat in need of attention as infrastructure talks enter a new phase this week.

Biden on Tuesday Negotiations with a top Republican in the Senate officially ended on a package aimed at overhauling the country’s infrastructure system, and turns its attention to a larger bipartisan group of senators, including moderates like Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). This group is preparing its own proposal in the hopes of reaching an agreement that they can then bring to the White House.

Progressive senators have so far sat quietly on the sidelines during the infrastructure negotiations. But they have spoken louder this week about their priorities – like investing in electrifying the country’s vehicles to tackle climate change – that will be left out in any deal.

A pair of climate hawks opposed comments from Biden’s climate advisor Gina McCarthy, who said Politico on Tuesday that some of the government’s sweeping climate proposals could fall off the infrastructure package given the reality of a 50-50 Senate.

“An infrastructure package that focuses on climate and clean energy should not count on every democratic vote,” tweeted Senator Martin Heinrich (DN.M.) on Wednesday in response to McCarthy’s comments.

“Just a gentle, friendly reminder that the executive doesn’t write the bills.” added Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) And Jeff Merkeley (D-Ore.) Raised similar concerns.

McCarthy tried to clean up her comments on Wednesday, stressing that the government continues to view the fight against climate change as a major engine for job creation.

The White House did consistently highlighted the lack of GOP support for clean energy infrastructure as the main obstacle to reaching an agreement. A White House official said Wednesday that senior officials had reached out to worried senators.

Even if the Biden administration somehow finds 10 Republican votes to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package, which looks extremely difficult at the moment, it will also require the support of all Senate Democrats to pass.

“You shouldn’t assume that a bipartisan package has 50 Democratic votes,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Told reporters Monday.

Progressives were already a bit disappointed with the climate parts of Biden’s original infrastructure plan. While this would mark an all-time high for clean energy spending and climate change, it fell far short of what proponents hoped and what scientists believe is necessary to bring the American economy’s carbon footprint to zero.

In one Private call HuffPost reports on Shortly after the plan was in place, McCarthy admitted climate advocates would be disappointed but said they should keep working to “hype” the plan.

“I don’t know if we’ll meet your size expectations, but it will certainly change our economy,” she said.

So far, the complaints have come from less prominent progressives like Schatz and Heinrich than from the Senate left wing leaders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) And Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). While both have broadly suggested that Biden shouldn’t spend too much time negotiating with Republicans, neither has explicitly threatened to withhold their vote on an infrastructure package.

The plan the bipartisan senatorial group is working on is unlikely to include the Democrats’ ambitious climate proposals, according to Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

“The Democrats’ climate agenda is likely something they are broadly pursuing outside of an infrastructure bill,” Romney said on Wednesday.

The Democrats are driving a special budget process known as reconciliation, even as the Biden government continues to seek GOP votes on infrastructure. The reconciliation will allow Democrats to avoid a filibuster and unilaterally pass a bill through a party vote.

But key democratic moderates like Manchin and Sinema have signaled their preference to make every possible effort to achieve a bipartisan outcome before moving on to reconciliation. So, at least for now, the Biden government will have to please the two senators and start another round of bipartisan talks if they are to rely on the votes of Manchin and Sinema for democratic bills in the coming weeks.