Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday said President Biden needs to push for bipartisanship in government while Congress is closely split between Democrats and Republicans.
“A Senate evenly split between both parties and a bare Democratic House majority are hardly a mandate to ‘go it alone,’ ” Romney tweeted Thursday. “The President should live up to the bipartisanship he preached in his inaugural address.”
The Senate has 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, with Vice President Harris breaking ties, while the House only has a slight Democratic majority with 219 Democrats and 211 Republicans.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Thursday that he could pass Biden’s infrastructure plan through the budget reconciliation process without a vote from Republicans, the same process used to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
However, Klain does hope to get some Republicans on board with the plan.
Biden ran his campaign on uniting the country and called for Democrats and Republicans to work together in his inaugural address.
Biden met with Republican senators in the Oval Office when the coronavirus relief package was being debated to try to find common ground on the issue.
However, Republicans and Democrats have been at odds over major issues including gun control after recent mass shootings and Georgia’s voting laws.
Romney is the only Republican senator who voted to convict former President Trump in both his impeachment trials.