WASHINGTON (AP) – Confrontation with Congress on National Credita frenetic spectacle at the border As pandemic restrictions ease.precious trip abroad It was meant to maintain support for Ukraine and contain a more assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.
Three weeks into his re-election campaign, President Joe Biden, in his day-to-day business, is ignoring easy solutions and tackling a wide array of problems that are not entirely within his control. confronting. If, as advisers believe, the only best Mr. Biden can do for his chances of re-election is to govern well, the next few weeks will see his way to a second term. It can be a real challenge.
Economists warn the country faces a dwindling recession and a worse one if Mr. Biden and lawmakers can’t agree a path to raising the debt ceiling. Biden is asking Congress to raise the spending without any preconditions, equating Republican spending cut demands with a ransom for the country’s total trust and credit.
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency meant the end of special pandemic restrictions on immigration procedures at the already taxed U.S.-Mexico border. While the Biden administration has responded with new policies to crack down on illegal immigration, while opening up legal pathways to encourage would-be immigrants to stay in place and apply online to come to the United States, Mr. We anticipate a “chaotic” situation as the procedures take effect.
The tests came as Biden prepared to leave Washington on Wednesday for an eight-day trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. Biden has called for the G7 democratic economies to maintain support for Ukraine as it prepares to strike back against Russian aggression, and to revitalize the alliance in the face of China’s strong regional moves. They will try to unite the nations.
Biden has put his problem-solving skills at the center of his speeches to voters in 2020, which is at the heart of why the 80-year-old Biden is best prepared for four more years in the White House. It has become.
“I have more experience than anyone who has ever run for president,” Biden told MSNBC earlier this month. “And I think I’ve proven that I’m both admirable and competent at the same time.”
But the disorderly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 has tarnished Mr. Biden’s image as a successful manager, and his approval ratings have plummeted, but he is still trying to recover.
An April poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs and Research found that approval for Mr. Biden’s job improved slightly to 42%. From 38% in March. The March poll came after two bank failures undermined confidence in a domestic financial system that had already begun to falter, and Mr. Biden’s approval ratings at the time were near the lowest point of his presidency. It also found that 26% of all Americans want Biden re-elected, up slightly from 22% who said yes in January. Forty-seven percent of Democrats said they want him to run, up from just 37 percent in January.
Aides said Biden entered the White House as the country faced greater challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic after Donald Trump’s four-year presidency, the resulting economic crisis, and tensions in international alliances. He points out that it was a time when he was faced with
White House press secretary Andrew Bates said, “President Biden will continue to support middle-class families and the mainstream, including by confronting congressional Republican extreme MAGA threats to trigger a recession unless drastic spending cuts are obtained.” I continue to use my experience and judgment to continue to fight for my values.”
Mr. Biden said on Saturday that he “doesn’t know” how the staff-level talks to de-crash the debt ceiling will end. While he plans to meet again with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders before heading overseas, the White House is open to Mr. Biden considering spending cuts as part of the budget process. He maintains that he has no intention of agreeing to that as president. conditions for increasing the borrowing limit.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that “there is no agreement on the debt ceiling.” “The debt ceiling is non-negotiable. This is what Congress needs to do,” she said.
U.S. officials have warned that the deadlock threatens national security. According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, senior Pentagon officials have already warned that this could adversely affect the salaries and benefits of military personnel around the world and those in U.S. positions. there is
“This sends a terrible message to countries like Russia and China. They just want to point to it and say, ‘Look, the United States is not a reliable partner.'” It’s not a stable leader in safety,” he said.
Biden also faces significant challenges on the southern border, and the transition from Title 42 has never been easy.. Migrants along the border ignored the cries of officials to turn back and still ventured into the Rio Grande for a chance to enter the country. The lawsuit threatens efforts to release immigrants to the United States to avoid overcrowding of border patrol posts and to crack down on incoming asylum seekers.
But this problem cannot be solved by the United States alone.
“It is true that the Americas is currently experiencing an unprecedented displacement crisis,” said Olga Salado, spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency.
An increasing number of immigrants from China, Ukraine, Haiti, Russia and other countries far from Latin America are arriving at the U.S. southern border, including more families and children traveling alone. In contrast, 30 years ago illegal immigrants were mostly single adults from Mexico who were easily brought back across the border.
Meanwhile, border guards are encountering nearly 8,000 more migrants each day, and the human toll of this challenge has been made evident by the death of a 17-year-old boy in recent days. in US custody. The investigation continues.
“One country’s decision alone will not solve the problem,” Salad said. “And we must remember that many of them are human beings in need of international protection and we need to put them at the center of every decision.”
Luke Nichter, a presidential historian at Chapman University, said with less than 18 months to go until Election Day, it’s no surprise that these issues should drive voter decisions.
“From now until November 2024 is a long time,” he said. “I think today’s issues will be less important in a year or more because they are unlikely to be issues in the minds of voters.”
Democratic donor Jonathan Young, who came to hear Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta on Friday, said Biden is something that shows voters middle ground, especially if the Republican Party nominates someone other than Trump. to overcome the current challenges, he said.
“The rematch could play out the same way, because Biden isn’t Trump yet,” Young said, arguing that the former president puts character over policy in any contest.
But Young noted that Biden’s response to President Trump’s “great personality” in 2020 was almost deliberately boring and stubbornly competent. No matter how Biden navigates his way through the debt ceiling and immigration issues, Young said he needs to maintain his ability to reliably re-sell his incumbent image.
“I think he’s great about policy, and I think he’s usually great about politics,” Young said of Biden. “He has proven that he can read the mood of the country really well.”
___
Associated Press reporters Colleen Long and Amar Madani from Washington and Bill Barrow from Atlanta contributed.