According to a new story, Democrats are quite comfortable with President Biden’s departure while negotiations on a funding bill to finance the government go beyond Friday.
“Biden has remained conspicuously absent outside of a brief statement issued by his press secretary—and for now, Democrats said there was little clamor for him to return,” Politico reported Thursday, one day after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump torpedoed the first bipartisan budget bill.
The story stated that despite the rush to avoid a government shutdown, “no one seemed to be looking to Biden for answers — and the lame-duck president gave no indication he had any desire to provide them.”
“I haven’t gotten any message from President Biden, or heard of anything that he’s saying,” California Democratic Rep. Mark Takano told Politico, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to say he’s been in touch with Biden, only that he’s been in “close contact with the administration.”
According to Politico, “Democrats appeared largely fine with Biden taking a back seat.”
Even at a House Democratic caucus meeting, “there had been no contemplation of Biden’s own views on the stalemate,” with members instead “pointedly referring to Musk as ‘President Musk.'”
Biden loyalists believed that Biden’s quiet was a planned choice to position Trump to absorb the responsibility for any shutdown, perhaps harming his political prospects before he enters office.
However, Politico stated that Democrats have only interacted with White House officials throughout this time, with no proof of a direct channel to the present president.
Biden had spent the whole day Wednesday at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, as the White House kept a lid on the bipartisan bill’s rejection. On Thursday, he stayed mute, with no public appearances scheduled.
“[T}he president’s absence underscores a jarring reality that officials in both parties said has become clear since the November election: While Biden technically still runs the country, Trump — and increasingly Musk — are the real captains now,” reports Politico.
Democrats plan to blame a potential shutdown on Trump and “President Musk.”
Politico’s allegation came after the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell piece revealing that numerous members of Biden’s staff noted his declining stamina as early as 2021, during the first few months of his presidency.