Are Senate Republicans trying to 'drive a wedge' between Biden and his staff during infrastructure negotiations?

Senate Republicans are "trying to drive a wedge" between President Biden and his staff during negotiations over the White House's infrastructure proposal, political analyst Bill Scher argues, citing an email to the press from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.).

Capito is leading the Republican effort to get Biden to cut down on his plan, which initially cost $2.25 trillion, but, as of Friday, sits at $1.7 trillion. Shrinking the total appeared to be a gesture of compromise, but it wasn't well-received by the GOP, and Capito's office took aim at Biden's advisers, stating that the two sides have been growing further apart since they got involved. White House staff, meanwhile, insist they, just like Biden, genuinely want to reach across the aisle, Politico reports.

If Scher's reading of Capito's statement is accurate, there so far doesn't seem to be any inkling that the strategy is working. Read more at Politico.

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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.