Sunday, 27 June 2021 (YJC) _U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday withdrew his threat to veto a $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.
He said of the infrastructure bill on Thursday that "if this is the only thing that comes to me, I’m not signing it."
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 in a statement issued on Saturday.
The new comments create some distance between the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said on Thursday that Democrats would not consider the bipartisan infrastructure package until both it and a larger spending plan aimed at climate, American families and other social priorities pass the Senate.
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