(UnitedReader.com) – President Biden’s infrastructure plan has been surrounded by controversy, first with the cost of the bill and then by how Biden planned to pay for it. Still, the legislation received widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The Controversy Surrounding the Bill
Despite the bipartisan support for the infrastructure bill, former President Trump and many Republicans seem to disagree with its passage. The former President condemned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for voting for the bill when he couldn’t get infrastructure passed under his own administration.
A staunch ally of Trump, Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also had plenty to say about the bill, calling it a communist takeover. It wasn’t just Trump and a handful of Republicans who were against the plan. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (D-NY) and her “squad” resisted the bill as well. AOC and her group are against the bill because they wanted Biden’s Build Back Better plan to pass in tandem with it. The infrastructure bill is also expensive at $1.2 trillion, but Congress made revisions to help bolster bipartisan support so it’s lower than the original cost.
Republicans Who Voted Yes
Between the two chambers of Congress, 30 Republicans supported the passage of the infrastructure bill. 13 of those GOP members belong to the House, where they’re receiving backlash from their party and constituents over their support. In the Senate, 17 Republicans helped get the bill through and on its way to President Biden’s desk; they’re also under scrutiny from their party.
Some US Representatives, such as Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) have received threatening messages from their constituents, some calling for them to “kill themselves” and others hoping they get in horrible accidents. Former President Trump, of course, had plenty to say about the “traitors.”
Trump referred to the Republicans as “RINOs,” an infamous acronym that stands for Republicans In Name Only, asserting that preserving the GOP starts with protecting it from their kind. Trump added that the Republicans who voted for the bill are sellouts and should be ashamed of themselves.
The former President announced that he would back any America First Republicans running against the GOP members of Congress who voted in favor of President Biden’s infrastructure plan. Will Trump’s words empower GOP challengers and make a difference in the elections? The former President isn’t the only one upset with the GOP’s choice to pass the bill, so the coming advances could be interesting.
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