Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi to Draw on Their History in Bid to Unite Fractious Democrats
WASHINGTON—The relationship between President-elect Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spans more than three decades. They now must draw on those ties to steer a divided Democratic coalition amid a pandemic and an economy recovering from a deep slump. The president-elect and speaker have both reached the highest levels in U.S. party politics by forging coalitions among disparate members of their party, including moderates and progressives, according to their allies and advisers. The pair’s history of legislating together has created what colleagues describe as mutual trust.
Mr. Biden and Mrs. Pelosi, who both hope to start by passing additional measures to address the coronavirus pandemic, must unite party members who have bickered over issues such as expanding government health insurance, how much to spend to combat climate change and criminal-justice policy. The pair also must work with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York to win over enough Republicans to clear that chamber’s 60-vote threshold for most bills. Control of the Senate—which could determine the success or failure of much of the Democratic agenda—hinges on the outcome of two Jan. 5 runoff races in Georgia. The last time a Democratic president came into office, the party had a comfortable House majority and briefly held a Senate supermajority. This time, with two House races not called, Democrats have only a few more seats than the 218 required for a House majority. Mr. Biden has tapped three House lawmakers to serve in his administration, which will temporarily shrink the majority further.
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Over the years, the two established a friendship in which they refer to each other by their first names, a rarity for Mrs. Pelosi. Both are Roman Catholics and cite their faith as a motivation for their service. Mrs. Pelosi said both carry simple rosaries in their pockets. The two went to Rome for the 2013 inauguration of Pope Francis. When Mr. Biden, then a senator, championed the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, Mrs. Pelosi helped whip votes in the House. Later, Mrs. Pelosi oversaw foreign spending on the House Appropriations Committee while Mr. Biden was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the two traveled together to Europe in 1997 with then-President Bill Clinton. In the Obama administration, Mr. Biden was frequently sent by the White House to talk through deals with the speaker, including the auto industry bailout and the Affordable Care Act, said John Lawrence, Mrs. Pelosi’s then-chief of staff.
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Mrs. Pelosi is known as a skilled vote-counter who seeks to find common ground between her members and hold her party together on tough votes. Mr. Biden built his legislative career by forging relationships with Republicans and continued to reach out to them as vice president, to the consternation of some Democrats. Some Democrats say their leaders are too quick to make deals with Republicans. In late December, as leadership from both parties negotiated a coronavirus-relief package, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) tweeted: “One major difference between GOP and Dems is that GOP leverage their right flank to gain policy concessions and generate enthusiasm, while Dems lock their left flank in the basement bc they think that will make Republicans be nicer to them.”
One intraparty fight could break out over expanding access to health care, which Mrs. Pelosi says is one of her top goals. Progressives want to extend Medicare to all Americans. Mr. Biden and Mrs. Pelosi instead have proposed creating a public option to compete against private insurers. The duo’s first challenge will be the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 342,000 Americans, closed businesses and slowed economic growth. Mr. Biden also has said he hopes to provide a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. without a permanent legal status, and to pursue policies to address climate change.
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Former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Mr. Biden’s longtime aide who is running his presidential transition, said that Democrats always have had a range of ideological views and that Mr. Biden united the party behind him in the November election. “Democrats aren’t like Republicans, they don’t march in lockstep, and Nancy has always been able to hold that coalition together in the House,” Mr. Kaufman said. “It was the same coalition that helped the president-elect.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-biden-nancy-pelosi-to-draw-on-their-history-in-bid-to-unite-fractious-democrats-11609506000 (subscription)
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