The Transportation secretary also attacked the idea of legislative linkage, which has dominated Capitol Hill in the recent days. This prompted President Joe Biden to walk back Saturday what Republican lawmakers saw as a threat to veto last week's bipartisan package.Buttigieg stated that he isn't sure if it is clearly defined, other than those who are interested in the process. Does it mean that they will be linked? Is this one piece of legislation that moves at once? It is not, according to me.Buttigieg said that the bills were connected in terms of Congress members working together to get them done. He also added, "Are they linked for us?" They are linked in people's lives.Granholm was asked directly by CNN whether the bipartisan package was linked to a second, Democrats only measure. The Energy secretary's response was not apparent to be ambiguous.She said no. Biden wants both bills. He said so and will campaign for both. He didn't issue or wanted to clarify that he was not issuing a threat of veto.While many Republican senators said that they were reassured over the weekend by Biden's course correction, the varied responses from Buttigieg and Granholm to the fate of the bills has been fodder for GOP lawmakers seeking to undermine the Democrats reconciliation effort.Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.Ky.), claimed Monday that Democrats wanted to take a bipartisan bill hostage. He was referring to a separate, partisan process that demanded that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer(D-N.Y.Y.) seperate the passage of the $579 million physical infrastructure package and the reconciliation bill.Pelosi has stated that she won't consider the bipartisan package unless the Senate uses the legislative reconciliation process to approve a multitrillion-dollar measure to achieve Biden's priority family assistance and social welfare priorities. The White House referred to the provisions in its American Families Plan as human infrastructure.When Granholm was asked Tuesday about Pelosis' threat to stall bipartisan package negotiations, Granholm stated that the Democrats reconciliation bill had not been negotiated yet. However, he insisted that Biden supports both of these proposals.She said that the president does not want to see this get slowed down by partisanship and process. He wants to work with his right-leaning allies and leave something for the American people. That is the message. It's all about the people. This is not about the political process.Buttigieg also tried to minimize the importance of the timing of the bills, saying that administration officials are aware that Congress will handle it according the process and order they choose.Buttigieg pointed out McConnell as an example of a situation where the minority leader can be right. Congress is the one that dictates congressional processes. The president does not. You'll see that the administration continues to fight for both sets of issues in a full-throated manner.Biden published a Yahoo News Op-Ed Monday, promoting the bipartisan package to be something Americans can be proud to have. He will also travel to Wisconsin Tuesday to promote it.
