WASHINGTON – He was an arm-draping pol as a senator. He hung out in the Senate cloakroom chatting up legislators as vice president.
He pitched himself during the presidential campaign as someone who could “get people working together” and lower the temperature in a Washington overheated by Donald Trump.
Now, after his first full week as president, Joe Biden is coming face to face with the potential limitations of his ability to work across the aisle as he pushes for a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that is the first big test of his tenure.
Republicans are balking at the price tag and Democrats are sending signals that they’re willing to push the bill through without GOP help as Biden’s campaign pitch to be a deal-maker appears to be