Graham’s comments came as Senate Democrats continue to weigh spending as much as $6 trillion via the reconciliation process on their own infrastructure package if the chamber’s bipartisan talks fail — or even if the bipartisan package is approved. Graham said if Democrats go the reconciliation route, it could be “very problematic,” and called on Biden again to work with the bipartisan group.
“President Biden, you’ve got a party that’s divided, you’ve got a Republican Party that’s willing to meet you in the middle for a trillion dollars of infrastructure that could fundamentally change the way America does business in roads, ports, and bridges and accelerate electrical vehicles,” Graham said. “You’ve got to decide what kind of president you are and what kind of presidency you want.”
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) doubled down on Graham’s comments about Democrats’ larger infrastructure proposal, saying it’s a “grab bag of progressive priorities.”
“It’s not about infrastructure. It’s kind of a $6 trillion grab bag of progressive priorities,” Portman said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Ours is about core infrastructure, and it is paid for.”