Biden rides a Keep It Simple, Stupid strategy to early success
The president’s Covid-relief bill passed the Senate on Saturday. It was a remarkably drama-free milestone for a $1.9 trillion bill.
By NATASHA KORECKI and CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO
03/07/2021 07:00 AM EST
From the day Joe Biden stepped into the White House, his top priority was clear: Pass Covid relief. Ignore skirmishes elsewhere. Keep the message to Congress simple. And keep the message to the public even clearer: The current health and financial crisis would not go unanswered.
“Crisis creates urgency and they made the relief bill the singular focus of their agenda,†said Rahm Emanuel, who as President Obama’s chief of staff in 2009 ushered through a relief package after himself uttering his famous phrase about not letting a serious crisis “go to waste.†For the Biden team, Emanuel said, Covid relief was priorities “No. 1, 2 and 3 of their agenda.â€
On Saturday, Biden’s keep-it-simple strategy paid off, after the Senate advanced his massive $1.9 trillion stimulus package, setting up a vote in the House and — shortly thereafter — the likely arrival of the bill to the president’s desk.
Just six weeks into his administration, the president was already telling Americans he had delivered on a signature promise.
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