But Biden looked confident concerning the fate of both proposals on Thursday afternoon, appearing vindicated that his sometimes-derided approach to bipartisan dealmaking had yielded results.
“Let me be clear: Neither side got everything they wanted in this deal,” he told newsmen. “That’s what it means to compromise. And it reflects something important. It reflects consensus. The heart of democracy.”
Biden said his attention would now turn to legislating “the other half” of his economic agenda, “to finish the job on child care, education, the caring economy, clean energy and tax cuts for American families.”
Such examples of what Biden called “human infrastructure” are “inextricably intertwined” with the physical-infrastructure provisions he had negotiated with the working group of senators.
Biden also sought to assuage the more progressive members of his party who remain skeptical of the bipartisan package and have demanded that moderate Democrats commit to coupling it with an expansive reconciliation bill.
“To them, I say this: I’ve already shown in my young presidency that I’m prepared to do whatever needs to get done to move the country forward,” he said.
And in a more explicit pledge, Biden said he was “not going to rest until both [proposals] get to my desk.” In a afterwards exchange with the White House press corps, he reiterated that if the bills “don’t come” together, “I’m not signing it.”
Those remarks by Biden were just one of several examples of an apparently emboldened president, who repeatedly boasted about his command of tenuous congressional negotiations and reluctance to deliberate publicly before members of the media.
On a few occasions, Biden bent down to whisper points of emphasis into the microphone, and he claimed to newsmen that he knew the raw politics of the House and Senate “better than most of you know it.”
The American public, however, “understands, and they’re seeing” tangible results from the White House’s agenda, Biden argued.
“Based on my being out on the street and polling data,” he said, “I think the people who need the help the most trust me to be fighting to get them the help they need.”