AMN / WEB DESK
President Joe Biden vowed on to pursue a scaled-back version of his marquee domestic policy plan as he mounted a two-hour defense of his first-year accomplishments and repeatedly blamed Republicans for abandoning any serious attempt to govern the country.
In an expansive news conference in the East Room of the White House today Mr. Biden refused to accept criticism of how his administration has handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying that “we’ve done remarkably well.” And he rejected accusations that he called lawmakers who opposed voting rights legislation racists in a fiery speech last week.
Acknowledging that his $2.2 trillion social spending legislation will not pass the Senate in one piece, Mr. Biden said he would try to pass individual parts of the bigger bill in the Senate, where they might get more bipartisan support. He said he was confident that provisions on energy and the environment would get enough support to pass.
Mr. Biden specifically noted that there was too much opposition among Democrats and Republicans to two of his key agenda items, which were central to the pledges he made on the campaign trail in 2020: an extension of the child tax credit and free community college for all Americans.