Biden returns to the Hill amid shutdown talks – as some Democrats are left asking where he is
President has largely remained out of the fight on Capitol Hill over a spending bill that risks shutting down the government
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Your support makes all the difference.For three days, Democratic members of Congress have flurried about Capitol Hill scrambling to work on a Republican-thwarted spending bill to prevent the government from being shut down – all while President Joe Biden goes about his business.
The president has reportedly taken a bit of a backseat role in confronting the chaos started by billionaire political advisor Elon Musk who, on Wednesday, demanded House Republicans vote against the bipartisan spending bill.
Biden spent Wednesday and much of Thursday at his home in Delaware, in part to mark the anniversary of his first wife and daughter’s death. Meanwhile, Congress spiraled into chaos as the government lurches toward a shutdown just before the holidays.
“I haven’t gotten any message from President Biden, or heard of anything that he’s saying,” California Representative Mark Takano told Politico on Thursday. “Elon’s the shot-caller, it’s pretty clear to me.”
Connecticut Rep Rosa DeLauro, the Democrats’ top appropriator, echoed that statement.
White House aides reportedly sprung into action, trying to handle the fallout ignited by Musk and pushed forward by Donald Trump. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave a short statement on the matter, blaming Republicans for backing out and creating instability.
Even after returning to the White House on Thursday evening, Biden remained tight-lipped on the matter.
Biden allies told Politico the president’s silence was a strategic move, designed to push the blame to Trump, Musk and other Republicans as the party prepares to take over the White House and Congress.
Despite not getting involved in the matter for two days, Trump still attested the government shutdown would be a “Biden problem to solve”.
However, it was Trump and his allies who caused the current chaos, by demanding Republicans oppose the bipartisan spending bill that would have kept the government running until mid-March. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson even endorsed the original spending bill.
Trump demanded lawmakers include a provision to eliminate the debt ceiling – which caps the amount of money the federal government can borrow. However, Democrats are likely to oppose any spending bill that includes that.
Lawmakers scrambled to get to work on Friday hours before the deadline to pass the bill or risk the government shutting down.
Meanwhile, the president went about his day, largely remaining out of the situation. Jean-Pierre said the president did speak with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday afternoon.
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