Biden Must Take Advantage of Senate Majority
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Rev. Raphael Warnock (Left) and Jon Ossoff (Right) were elected in Georgia’s run-off election on Jan. 5. (Elijah Nouvelage | Getty Images)
The election of Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the Georgia Senate run-off means that Democrats control the Senate, albeit narrowly, as the Biden administration transitions into office. Their victory opens the door for the advancement of the Democratic agenda, something that would not be possible as long as Republicans had control. Republican legislators are notorious for blocking any and all Democratic proposals, often solely in the name of partisanship. Joe Biden has promised, however, to unify the country during his term as President. Part of that promise, he has said, will be achieved using his decades-long experience as a senator to work with both parties to pass legislation. While his intention to work with Republican lawmakers makes sense as an attempt to end the legislative stalemate between parties, the urge to be excessively bipartisan is a trap Democrats have fallen into and been hindered by in the past.
When Obama took office for his first term in 2009, Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, as they will again for at least part of Biden’s first term. Looking back, it would have been an opportune time to push the Democratic agenda through unapologetically, but many Democrats were less than pleased with his attempts at bipartisanship. Arguably, Obama’s good faith efforts to reach across the aisle were nothing but a hindrance to the success of any liberal legislation, most notably because Republicans in Congress reacted to his election by implementing fierce obstructionism. Due to the fact that American politics has grown far more divided and partisan since then, there is little reason to believe that Biden’s presidency won’t suffer the same fate should he be too bent on working with Republicans.
It is important that Biden does not allow bipartisan efforts to supersede the need for speedy passage of Democratic legislation. Fourteen Democratic Senate seats are up for reelection in 2022, at which time control of the Senate will be back on the table. Before then, it should be a priority for the Biden administration to push important legislation — like climate and healthcare resolutions — through. President Trump and Republican lawmakers spent four years repealing Obama-era protections on the environment and attempting to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, endangering American lives at the expense of corporate interests. Millions of Americans are counting on Biden’s presidency to restore and expand on these laws.
If Republicans in Congress refuse to work with the president as they have been known to do, he and Democrats should not be faulted for moving ahead without reaching across the aisle. The idea that unifying the country must fall on the shoulders of Democrats, when Republicans have previously rejected all attempts at doing so, is a double standard that Biden’s administration should be mindful not to adhere to. Despite the confidence Joe Biden has projected about his ability to negotiate with senators outside his party, many liberals have expressed doubt about how successful he will be in doing so. The reality is that the GOP is more partisan than ever. Democrats should not feel pressure to sacrifice the passage of crucially important legislation in the name of achieving unity with a party that does not want to work with them, and President Biden must not allow failures at bipartisanship to stagnate the necessary task of remedying Trump’s four years worth of damaging legislation.
