They have argued viciously in Congress over just about everything: Whether the Capitol insurrection should be investigated or brushed aside. If the presidents choice for the Supreme Court should be limited to the first Black woman. Even over whether or not to wear masks in the Capitol building.
But as lawmakers gather for President Joe Bidens first State of the Union address amid the gravity of Russias invasion of Ukraine, they have mustered a rare and remarkable bipartisan resolve, determined to hold the U.S. and its allies together in the defense of a Western-oriented democracy.
When Biden stands in the House chamber Tuesday evening, trying to make good on what until now has been a faltering attempt to resolve the nations bitter divisions, he may find that the threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin abroad has become the unexpected force pulling the U.S. political parties toward common purpose.
I think you will see in the State of the Union, a strong bipartisan support for our president, predicts Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a Biden ally.
The turn of events is both stunning and fragile. Foreign policy has not been the kind of bipartisan draw it was during the past century, when Congress and the White House worked together as the U.S dominated the global stage. Factions on the right and left have broken off, most definitively over the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, creating oddball political alliances in the U.S. and chiseling away at a shared mission.
The revival of a robust majority thats largely supportive of Bidens strategy toward Russia is even more striking because it is shaping up as one of the most significant rejections of Donald Trumps embrace of Putin and the former presidents praise of Putins tactics as Russia invaded Ukraine.
Were all together at this point and we need to be together about what should be done, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Still, the State of the Union address may not be free of partisan antics, unfolding against the backdrop of a Congress deeply divided over many issues: a prime-time address to the nation, too tempting for lawmakers looking for attention.
This year is particularly fraught amid ongoing COVID restrictions and a Capitol still largely shuttered to the public. Thats due in part to safety concerns in the aftermath of the deadly Jan 6, 2021 assault by Trump supporters trying to stop Congress from certifying Bidens election.
Tuesdays gathering in the House chamber will be the first time since the pandemic outbreak in 2020 and last years attack on the Capitol that all members of the House and Senate are being invited to gather for what typically has been an annual event.
Masks will no longer be required, removing once source of friction for those lawmakers who had flouted the guidelines and risked being booted from the session for failing to comply though COVID tests and social distancing measures will still be required
But the heavy metal security fence is back up around the Capitol complex. Its not in response to specific warnings but more a bow to the new normal, a reminder of threats from within Americas own electorate.
Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, was busy defending her appearance over the weekend at a conference hosted by a white nationalist a view she said she didnt endorse.
And it cant be said that Republicans are fully pleased with Bidens handling of the Ukraine war.
McConnell has been highly critical of the presidents runup to the crisis, calling the White Houses disastrous exit from Afghanistan last summer a sign of U.S. weakness that opened the door to Putins invasion.
Leading Republican lawmakers have derided what defense hawks view as Bidens initial reluctance to impose sanctions to deter Putins advance on Ukraine. Others have criticized the White House climate change agenda as creating an energy policy that boosts Russian exports, including via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany, now scrapped over the war.
We all know what Putin wants, and he said so publicly: He wants to reconstitute the USSR and pull back in his orbit all the countries that were in it before, said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. This is a seminal moment.
But even some of the Trumps staunch supporters are parting ways with the former president after he called Putins invasion tactics genius.
Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who rallied with Trump supporters ahead of last years assault on the Capitol and has won Trumps endorsement in the Alabama Senate primary, lambasted Putins invasion as barbaric and evil.
But in a nod to the non-interventionist strain that runs deep in both left and right flanks, Brooks added, While Putins Ukrainian invasion and murders are heinous, this is first and foremost a problem for Western Europe to resolve.
Congress will face tests ahead, starting with Bidens request for at least $6.4 billion in supplemental funding to help Ukraine, which will require cooperation from both parties.
Said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.: You have the Trump voices in there, obviously, you know, a big part of the Republican Party nationally, but at least so far on Capitol Hill, especially in the Senate, I think youve got an overall bipartisan consensus. I hope it stays that way.
(AP)
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