Biden White House reeling after week of defeats, setbacks, and policy flops
The president's week was mired by a court defeat, cratering poll numbers, inflation woes, and other setbacks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden is on track for what could be one of the worst weeks of his presidency as his poll numbers continue to crater at the same time his legislative agenda stalls and court battles fail.
The Supreme Court blocked President Biden’s push to force employers across the country with over 100 employees to vaccinate their workers in a 6-3 ruling that dealt a sizable blow to the administration’s vaccination push.
That ruling came down as the president was on Capitol Hill trying to lobby support for his party’s bill that would overhaul the federal election system in the United States. As part of that push, the president gave a racially charged speech Tuesday linking his GOP opposition to Democrat segregationists like George Wallace and called for the filibuster to be suspended to pass the bill.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden (AP Newsroom)
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The president learned on Thursday that his speech, which was widely panned by Republicans and even drew criticism from his longtime friends Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Rev. Al Sharpton, along with his appearance on Capitol Hill were not enough to sway Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, whose support he needed.
"I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster," Manchin announced Thursday to go along with Sinema’s speech on the Senate floor opposing the move which delivers a fatal blow to the bill.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden points to the Oval Office of the White House as he arrives on Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, as he returns from Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The president acknowledged on Thursday that the bill could be dead, for now.
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In addition to the fizzling legislation and court defeat, polling shows the American public’s approval of Biden’s job performance continues to crater.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president’s approval rating stands at just 33% and disapproval at 53% among Americans in a Quinnipiac University national poll conducted Jan. 7-10 and released Wednesday. Biden’s approval is down three points from Quinnipiac’s previous survey, which was conducted in November, with disapproval remaining unchanged.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, the president is deeply underwater on his handling of three top issues – the economy (34%), foreign policy (35%), and the coronavirus pandemic (39%).
News on the economic front this week wasn’t any better for the president as inflation spiked at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in December, as rapid price gains fueled consumer fears about the economy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The consumer price index rose 7% in December from a year ago, according to a new Labor Department report released Wednesday, marking the fastest increase since June 1982, when inflation hit 7.1%. The CPI – which measures a bevy of goods ranging from gasoline and health care to groceries and rents – jumped 0.5% in the one-month period from November.
On Twitter, Biden was hounded by the hashtag #BareShelvesBiden which trended on the social media platform as users posted photos of empty grocery and retail store shelves stemming from the supply chain issues that have lingered over the last several months.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Additionally, the president’s campaign promise to "shut down" the coronavirus continues to haunt him, highlighted by 1.4 million new coronavirus cases in the United States on Monday, the highest daily total for any country in the world since the start of the pandemic.
White House Press Secretary was asked on Thursday about how things are "going pretty poorly right now" to which Psaki responded by touting the fact that 200 million people are vaccinated in the United States and cited "record job growth."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., President Biden, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., walk to greet the family of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, at the U.S Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
"We also recognize that when you have a small margin and threshold in the Senate, it’s very difficult to get things done and to get legislation passed," Psaki said. "And the fact that the president, under his leadership, got the American Rescue Plan passed, a bipartisan infrastructure bill with 19 (Republican) votes in the Senate and about six votes in the house, the fact that we are still continuing to work with members to determine the path forward on Build Back Better, that we have the vast majority of Democrats in the Senate supporting voting rights, that’s a path forward for us."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Conservatives on social media have hammed the president over his rough week outlining the various setbacks he has endured.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Megan Henney contributed to this report.