Has Biden made a political mistake by negotiating directly with the House Republicans over the budget and debt ceiling instead of letting Schumer and the Senate Democrats do the initial negotiations?
I think it makes sense that his team are the ones doing the negotiating because then the White House can stay in control and you have a unified entity speaking on the Democratic side. But the White House has to make sure it is staying in touch with what Senate Democrats will be willing to go along with and we'll see if they manage to do that.
I think he has made other mistakes, though. It is kind of insane that they went from "we'll never negotiate!" to "maybe work requirements are okay!" within the space of a few days. I never thought their position that they wouldn't negotiate was sustainable but I think the way they have handled it is perhaps creating the impression among the House GOP that the White House can be pushed around.
Has Biden made a political mistake by negotiating directly with the House Republicans over the budget and debt ceiling instead of letting Schumer and the Senate Democrats do the initial negotiations?
I think it makes sense that his team are the ones doing the negotiating because then the White House can stay in control and you have a unified entity speaking on the Democratic side. But the White House has to make sure it is staying in touch with what Senate Democrats will be willing to go along with and we'll see if they manage to do that.
I think he has made other mistakes, though. It is kind of insane that they went from "we'll never negotiate!" to "maybe work requirements are okay!" within the space of a few days. I never thought their position that they wouldn't negotiate was sustainable but I think the way they have handled it is perhaps creating the impression among the House GOP that the White House can be pushed around.
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