Washington Post: “In a June 8 phone call, Biden told Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA.) that he wanted a public works agreement with Republicans in the neighborhood of $600 billion. More notably, Biden showed deep interest in provisions on energy resiliency that Cassidy had been working on for weeks. That embrace of a favored provision hit home with Cassidy.”
Said Cassidy: “The president made it clear that that was essential for him. Since the president had said it must be there, obviously that was very helpful.”
“Biden’s phone call with Cassidy was only one example of Biden’s contact with Republicans during the talks. He regularly called GOP senators, White House aides say, while presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti was on virtual speed dial on the Republican negotiators’ phones. After he inadvertently angered Republicans by attaching public conditions to the deal, Biden personally phoned Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to ask how he could quell the uproar.”
Save to Favorites