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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022

2/14/2022 10:17:00 AM

Bipartisanship’s Mini Renaissance As Parties Work Together

A rare bipartisan streak in Washington offers a glimpse of an alternate political reality as Democrats and Republicans work together to pass bills related to Post Office, sexual harassment and voting laws. Wall Street Journal reporter Lindsay Wise joins WSJ News Host Luke Vargas to explain what started this recent cooperative streak and how long it could last.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Luke Vargas: Partisan divisions in Congress have been worsening for years, and an upcoming Supreme Court confirmation battle in the Senate could further strain relations ahead of what's also set to be fraught midterm elections. But as WSJ Congressional Reporter Lindsay Wise writes, "Bipartisanship is having something of a mini Renaissance right now." I'm Luke Vargas with the wall street journal, and Lindsay joins us now with more. Hi, Lindsay.

Lindsay Wise: Hi, how are you?

Luke Vargas: I'm doing great. Thanks. I think I and a lot of our listeners maybe find this a little hard to believe, but sell me on the fact that we are indeed seeing something of a bipartisan streak in Washington right now.

Lindsay Wise: Actually, it's something that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has noted several times last week. Then I attended several press conferences that were a veritable love fest between both parties, where you had Lindsay Graham and Chuck Schumer praising each other and complimenting each other on their bipartisanship, but it was pretty unusual. And there was even a bill that passed by voice vote in the Senate. It prohibited the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts, and in the cases of sexual assault and harassment claims. There were several other bills that were moving on the hill, including a deal that was reached on a landmark domestic violence bill that had been stagnating for three years. And there's a big bill that would boost US competitiveness with China. So all of these things seem to be part of a general thaw and gridlock.

Luke Vargas: Lindsay, have you heard a convincing explanation for why this is happening right now? Is something in the air in Washington?

Lindsay Wise: So it depends on who you talk to. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has said that Democrats will always be open to working with members of the other side of the aisle. Other Democrats I've talked to, like Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, he pointed out that sometimes it can be hard for whatever reason to agree on a big bill. There's always one or two items that people don't like. So he said maybe the tendency toward the big bill runs into problems, whereas if you narrow it down and you're willing to, I think the metaphor he used was, "Go for a single or a double rather than a home run," that you might be able to make some progress.

Luke Vargas: And how are Republicans explaining this?

Lindsay Wise: Now if you talk to Republicans, you get a very different answer. A lot of Republicans I talked to said that they see this as the consequence of Democrats failing to pass major legislation unilaterally. Democrats had wanted to pass their Build Back Better Act, which is a $1.75 trillion economic and climate package, and also major voting rights legislation. And those efforts failed in the last couple of months. So I think that Republicans see this new flowering of bipartisanship as Democrats coming to the realization that they can't get things done on their own. And if they want to get things done, they need to reach across the aisle.

Luke Vargas: I wonder in an optimistic scenario, what else might be able to actually get accomplished during this bipartisan spring, if you will. I'm sure things like immigration reform are still a third rail, but is there anything else we should keep an eye on?

Lindsay Wise: Yeah. Something like immigration reform is one of those things that's really difficult because it's one of those big bills where trying to get everyone on board with something so huge is very difficult. But I did hear from Senator Collins and others on a hill that there are some areas of possible collaboration, for example, on a pandemic preparedness bill to, I guess, prepare us for the next COVID. Hopefully not. But also workforce bills to address the shortage of workers. Legislation maybe to expand some childcare subsidies or grants. So there is some interest in proceeding with some of these smaller, but still significant and important initiatives that could be bipartisan.

Luke Vargas: Am I wrong or does that sound like possibly breaking up parts of the Build Back Better plan and seeing if there isn't a path forward for them as individual elements?

Lindsay Wise: Actually, it was interesting. I talked to people, both Democrats and Republicans, who said that the big policy pieces of that bill are actually a little more difficult to pick off and start working on in a bipartisan way. Because I think that Democrats are still hopeful that, for example, unlike drug pricing or childcare, that they might be able to get Senator Manchin to agree to pieces of that larger legislation that they could pass with Democrats only. And I think they're still a little reluctant to retreat from the policy provisions that they had crafted for that bill.

Luke Vargas: Okay. And on the flip side, what in the coming weeks could be, let's say, a buzzkill to this bipartisan streak we've been seeing?

Lindsay Wise: It's hard to say. I mean, there is, of course, the Supreme Court pick that people are anticipating, that Biden is going to have to make in the coming weeks, although he has indicated that he might pick someone that could get bipartisan votes. If they pick someone, for example, like Judge Childs who has been recommended by Lindsey Graham, and also Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina. So there are some candidates that could potentially get bipartisan votes. And I think that it'll be interesting to see whether that Supreme Court fight becomes a fight or not, or if it's another opportunity to see some bipartisanship, which would be very unusual these days for a Supreme Court pick,

Luke Vargas: That was Journal Congressional Reporter Lindsay Wise. Lindsay, thanks for the update.

Lindsay Wise: Thanks.