Biden’s first week was a run to the left

His inaugural speech was “grand and deeply intimate,” a “balm for a wounded nation.” Biden “faced the challenge” simply by appearing on his oath “at a time of deep national vulnerability.” A veteran observer admitted he left him “in a bit of heartbreak.” I’m sure you do.

It is understandable that so many of the media hailed Mr. Biden’s rise to the oval office. They hated the person he replaced. But looking beyond the countries, the new president has a wet start, with too many discrepancies between stated intentions and subsequent actions.

Biden often calls for bipartisanship, but this will require his leadership. He will have to work with Republican leaders to find areas of agreement before legislation emerges. As for the Covid-19 stimulus, the president did nothing of the sort. Instead, he exposed his initiative without consulting Republicans and included several provisions and a $ 1.9 trillion price he knew were unacceptable to Republican lawmakers. Now, instead of quickly passing a bipartisan bill that boosts vaccinations and gives the new administration an early victory, we hear about Democrats achieving Covid relief in a party line vote through the procedure of reconciliation.

This is reminiscent of January 2009, when President Barack Obama cut off GOP suggestions for his stimulus project by telling House Minority Singer Eric Cantor, “I won.” This helped poison the administration’s relationship with its loyal opposition and propelled the Republican Party to a majority in the House in 2010.

Biden showed a similar approach to immigration. Biden’s transition team published a four-page outline of its bill, weighed in on a path to illegal alien citizenship (it looks like many could become citizens before some are in line legally today) and clear on border security. The latter is especially worrying after the president stopped construction of the border wall. The Obama-Biden administration helped build the wall, but since President Trump defended it, President Biden has now opposed it.

Bipartisanship is possible, even in difficult circumstances. After a controversial election, in 2001 President George W. Bush approved a major tax cut and education reform “No Child Left Behind” with strong bipartisan support, the latter with a Democratic Senate. For the tax cut, he negotiated the package with the Democrats. For no child left behind, he urged Democrats to shape the legislation before its introduction. Biden has not tried either. Meanwhile, the initial nominations of Mr. Biden are approved by large bipartisan margins. Republicans show they are open to finding common ground.

There are other worrying differences between Mr. Biden’s rhetoric and his actions. Take the Department of Homeland Security’s policy on disposal policies. He opened by saying that the United States “faces significant operational challenges at the southwestern border” and that “it must increase resources to the border to ensure safe, legal and orderly processing” of the illegal crossings. legal. Therefore, he orders an “immediate 100-day break in removals.” Eh? The United States has an immigration crisis and the answer is to say that Olly Olly’s oxen are free? It is not uncommon for a federal judge to block him immediately.

The new administration has rightly taken a hard line against China, echoing the sentiments expressed by the Trump State Department. But on Tuesday Gina Raimondo, governor of Rhode Island and nominated for Biden’s secretary of commerce, declined to promise that Huawei, the Chinese state-backed wireless provider, will remain on the U.S. department’s list of banned companies as security threat. This was good news in Beijing.

Much of the praise for Mr. Biden focuses on his difference from his predecessor. Warren Harding’s “normalcy” has its appeal. But it seems increasingly as if the new president is offering reassuring words about bipartisanship and then issuing left-favored political prescriptions.

It’s early. Mr. Biden has been in charge for a week and still finds his marine legs. But you have to decide: will you act on the central theme of your campaign: bipartisanship and unity? Or will it allow Democrats in Congress and regulatory agencies to take public policies to the left?

The first signs point to the latter, which could mean the further expansion of federal power since the Great Society, and institutional changes that give a progressive dominance over American politics. We hope Mr. Biden changes direction as he finds actions that match his comforting words. If not, Republicans must find ways to curb their leftist movement.

Rove helped organize the American Crossroads political action committee and is the author of “The Triumph of William McKinley” (Simon & Schuster, 2015).