Inviting Over 30 First-Term Democratic Congress Members
Advice Reflecting 52 Years of Political Life Draws Attention
About two weeks before his retirement, marking the end of a 52-year political career, U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of bipartisan 'cooperation' to freshman Democratic House members.
According to the Associated Press on the 5th (local time), President Biden advised about 30 freshman Democratic House members at the White House on the political attitude and stance the Democratic Party should maintain as a minority party in Congress going forward.
President Biden pointed out, "Bipartisan cooperation has disappeared in politics," and said, "The greatest loss in American politics today is that we no longer know each other." He emphasized the need to always listen to others' opinions, even if they differ, and the necessity of cooperation with politicians from other parties.
Although it has long been a tradition in American politics for the two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans, to pass legislation through compromise and negotiation, recent political polarization in the U.S. has made bipartisan cooperation rare.
President Biden stated, "You do not have to give up your principles in the process of building relationships," arguing that individual politicians can build relationships with others without abandoning specific political ideologies or principles.
First entering politics as a federal senator in 1973, President Biden has experienced considerable frustration over the past four years dealing with Congress as the head of the administration. In 2021, he pushed for legislation to protect voters' rights and increase election transparency, but failed to pass it due to Republican opposition labeling it as 'election interference.' In the same year, he also sought to raise $1 trillion (about 1,470 trillion won) in budget for childcare and welfare by increasing taxes on the wealthy, but this too was blocked by Republican resistance.
President Biden mentioned the challenges the U.S. faces domestically and internationally, diagnosing, "We are living in a completely new era. Our safety depends on who America cooperates with and what alliances it forms."
Following the U.S. presidential election last November, which resulted in the victory of President-elect Donald Trump, President Biden will leave the White House on Inauguration Day, January 20. He stated, "The election results will be certified peacefully," and added, "I have invited the president who will be inaugurated at the White House on the morning of January 20, and I will attend the inauguration ceremony that afternoon."
Meanwhile, on the 3rd, the 119th U.S. Congress, dominated by the Republican Party, convened. The Republicans secured 52 of the 100 Senate seats and 219 of the 435 House seats, just surpassing the halfway mark (51 seats in the Senate, 218 in the House), and confirmed the reappointment of Speaker Mike Johnson, thus taking the first step to securing momentum for the early phase of their administration.
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