White House Brushes Off GOP’s Fake Tears Over Infrastructure Hardball: Take It Or Leave It!

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a daily press briefing at the White House on January 28, 2021. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki has a message for GOP senators who’ve been wailing about President Joe Biden dodging their trap by refusing to sign a bipartisan infrastructure bill without a reconciliation bill: Suck it up, buttercup.

During a press briefing on Friday, Psaki shrugged off Republicans’ complaints about Biden’s demand — which foiled their scheme to torpedo the president’s more progressive infrastructure proposals.

“It is up to Republicans … to decide if they are going to vote against a historic investment in infrastructure that’s going to rebuild roads and railways and bridges in their communities simply because they don’t like the mechanics of the process,” the White House official said.

“That’s a pretty absurd argument for them to make,” she added. “Good luck on the political front on that argument.”

Psaki’s remarks signaled that the Biden administration would keep playing hardball with GOP senators, who had bet that a watered-down bipartisan proposal would keep moderate Democrats from agreeing to a reconciliation bill containing much more progressive priorities.

But it turned out that the Republicans had effectively stepped on a rake when Biden announced on Thursday that he would only sign the bipartisan bill if the reconciliation bill were on his desk at the same time.

“If he’s gonna tie them together, he can forget it!” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) fumed.

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Notable Replies

  1. I don’t think the GOP’ers think they’ll get much heat for any tactic they employ as it prevents the legislation. If the bill does pass and the work begins, folks get good jobs and so forth the GOP will suffer for it’s previous positions. But if it does not pass they walk. They’re fine. So as the end of this comes into focus and it looks like the bill will be enacted expect the GOP to change. If it look a bust they’ll keep up the asshole routine.

  2. Avatar for nikta nikta says:

    Graham wasn’t going to vote for the bill anyway, so who cares what he’s blathering on about?

  3. Avatar for caltg caltg says:

    I trust that the GQP is serving lots of cheese to go with all that whining?

  4. Plow the motherfuckers over like they’re not there. Make them look like the idiots they are. When they realize we’re not going to take their shit anymore a few of them might actually get serious about governing instead of whining 24/7.

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