President Biden and his administration largely sat out the messy negotiations over government funding that gripped Capitol Hill this week.
Instead, it was President-elect Trump and his allies wrestling with lawmakers over a continuing resolution as a government shutdown seemed increasingly inevitable.
The White House on Friday brushed off numerous questions about Biden's absence from the meeting, saying he would not participate because it was Republicans who had to clean up the “mess” they had caused. insisted. But as the funding deadline approaches and there are no signs of administration officials heading to the Capitol, Biden's silence could have a negative impact on his final days in office.
“We just don't see them, and he's completely disappeared,” Republican strategist Doug Hay said of the president. “Biden is unemployed, and it's natural to wonder if part of that is because he's simply not doing his job.”
Responding to repeated questions about why Biden has not spoken or appeared publicly regarding the funding dispute, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified that “this is an issue for House Republicans to resolve.” He said it was part of a “strategy” for the ”
Still, that did little to prevent more similar questions, including what Biden's plans would be if the government shut down over the holidays and why he didn't speak to reporters himself. , some reporters asked whether Americans deserve to hear from the president hours before the government shutdown.
Others asked about Biden's current leadership position and why he doesn't want to counter Trump's and Elon Musk's messages on government funding.
Some Democrats, on the other hand, noted that lawmakers have not begged the president to move forward with a funding deal, pointing to the larger problem that Democrats are ready for the end of the Biden era. did.
“The bigger story is that no one is asking him to join. Democrats in Washington want to get the Biden family and their people out of town so we can move on from them.” Democratic Strategy House told The Hill.
Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) wonders if Biden would be listened to, given how absent he has been, if he was more involved in ongoing resolution negotiations. questioned.
“President Biden has been in a lame duck state for most of this year. Even if he had something to say, no one seemed to listen,” Curbelo said. “His only strategy is to leave it to President Trump, Elon Musk and the Speaker to disrupt, because it was their decision to undermine bipartisan agreement.” [Speaker Mike] Johnson made it. ”
The White House released two written statements on the issue this week. On Thursday, the administration denounced the Republicans' Plan B as a “gift to billionaires” before it was rejected by the full House. Since then, House Republicans have not yet considered their proposal, but the only way to fund the government is through an initial spending deal negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and endorsed by Democrats. He insists that the law should be passed by lawmakers. for.
The White House's approach is in stark contrast to that of President Trump, who threw all his might into the fight, at one point scrapping the original deal and demanding that the debt ceiling be negotiated before taking office.
Trump then warned Republicans who voted for the bill that they would be prioritized if they supported a bill that did not address the debt limit.
In response to a question about tackling debt limits as part of the CR, Jean-Pierre said Biden's “focus right now is to keep the government open,” but did not touch on the subject. There wasn't. Mr. Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., negotiated a debt ceiling increase during Mr. Biden's term after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations, but the White House was more involved.
Former Representative Joe Crowley of New York, former chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, argued that there was no need for Biden to become embroiled in the internal turmoil within the Republican Party.
“I really don't see why this is an issue for the president,” Crowley said. “Clearly Mr Johnson cannot govern with a majority. How is he going to do this when his majority is small?”
Other Democrats agreed, saying the fight over government funding is a Republican issue.
“This seems like a partisan fight,” said Ivan Zapien, a former Democratic National Committee official. “I don't know if Biden or the Democrats can play a role in solving the problem.”
Meanwhile, a former Democratic Party leadership staffer said that considering Biden is leaving office, negotiations are a matter for Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, not for Biden. said.
“These negotiations will shape next year's legislative and political dynamics at many levels, so by definition the center of gravity for Democrats is on Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Schumer,” the former staffer said. “Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Schumer will continue to work to ensure that Democratic votes are not taken for granted, as unified Republican control next year will be essentially constrained by narrow margins.”
Still, Mr. Biden risks being accused of instigating the government shutdown on his watch, and some Mr. Trump is trying to take advantage of this.
President Trump on Friday morning called for the shutdown to occur while Biden is president, rather than after he takes office in less than a month. President Trump also insisted that the debt ceiling would be raised during the Biden administration to avoid the liability associated with raising the debt ceiling.
When asked about President Trump's comments, Jean-Pierre again accused Republicans of sinking the original bill.
Trump served as president just before Christmas 2019 during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history over funding for a border wall. The second longest time was under President Clinton in 1995 over spending cuts, and the third longest was under President Obama in 2013 over the Affordable Care Act.
At the time, public opinion was divided over who was to blame for these closures.
After the Obama-era government shutdown in 2013, Republicans expanded their majority in the House of Representatives and won the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections. Following the Clinton-era government shutdown that lasted until December 1996, the president was reelected. Despite the prolonged government shutdown in 2019, Trump was reelected in November, and both the House and Senate will be controlled by Republicans in January.
Crowley said Biden's strategy of not speaking publicly and not sending staff to the Capitol is one of the ways the White House thinks Biden can avoid conflict. .
“Is this somehow smearing the Democratic Party? That makes no sense at all,” Crowley said. “They had an agreement. They kept their word. It wasn't the Democrats, and it certainly wasn't the president.”
He added: “I really don't understand how you can blame a lame duck Democratic president when we have a new president in office in just a few weeks.”
Taylor Giorno contributed to this report.
