Republicans Squabble Over How Tiny An Infrastructure Package To Demand
As President Joe Biden pushes for his American Jobs Plan, which repairs and upgrades existing U.S. infrastructure while expanding into what the country will need for the future, Republicans are trying to figure out exactly what they are for. Some Republicans simply aren’t willing to say anything but what they’re against. Others could maybe get on board with a plan that does a fraction of what’s needed to update 20th-century infrastructure—but forget about the needs of the century we’re already 20% of the way through.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Wednesday that she thought Republicans would go for $600 billion to $800 billion in infrastructure spending. That’s far smaller than the $2.3 trillion Biden is proposing, but it’s a “sweet spot,” Capito said—before quickly backtracking after her fellow Republicans indicated that it was too much for them. One-third of what Biden wants “seems a little high,” Sen. Mitt Romney said.