Biden backtracks on infrastructure threat
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday withdrew his threat to veto a USD$1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill unless a separate Democratic spending plan also passes Congress, saying that was never his intent.
Moments after announcing the bipartisan deal on Thursday, Biden appeared to put it in jeopardy with his comment that the infrastructure bill would have to move in "tandem" with a larger bill that includes a host of Democratic priorities that he hopes to pass along party lines.
"If only one comes to me, I'm not- this-this is the only one that comes to me, I'm not signing it. It's in tandem."
Those comments sparked criticism from some Republican lawmakers who were party to the deal and accused the president of making new demands.
Biden sought to clarify his position on Saturday in the hope of keeping the bipartisan deal from unraveling.
"My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent."
Biden said he is prepared to defend both spending packages against Democrats and Republicans and said they should be considered independent of each other.
He will be making the case across the country, starting in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
