Biden adviser: 'People will not get everything they want' in congressional negotiations

published 3 October 2021

Cedric Richmond, President Biden's senior adviser and a former member of the House, told NBC News' Chuck Todd during Sunday's edition of Meet the Press that not everyone will be completely satisfied once Democrats are done haggling over the White House's hotly-contested legislative agenda.

Todd's question revolved around some harsh words from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who suggested she doesn't believe there's enough trust within the Democratic Party after House Speaker pushed back the deadline on a House vote for the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure bill. Sinema is among the more centrist Democratic lawmakers who do not believe that package should necessarily be tied to the more expensive and sweeping reconciliation bill the party is trying pass.

Richmond didn't sound too worried about Sinema's warnings, instead chalking up the tension to a natural outcome for these situations. As all sides within the party look to iron out some sort of deal in the coming weeks, it's just reality that "people will be disappointed," Richmond said. "People will not get everything they want. That is the art of legislating." Ultimately, though, he said "the goal here is to get both bills, and we're going to fight until we get both bills."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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