# The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days \[NOT an Afghanistan discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057 "2020-11-08T15:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/61 "2020-11-30T02:30:25Z")
Is it Biden’s dog who needs a leash, or Biden? Yikes. > **[Biden fractures foot while playing with dog, to wear a boot](https://news.yahoo.com/biden-twists-ankle-while-playing-211918492.html)** > > President-elect Joe Biden fractured his right foot while playing with one of his dogs, an injury discovered in a scan Sunday and that will likely require him to wear a boot for several weeks, his doctor said. Biden suffered the injury on Saturday and... ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/62 "2020-11-30T04:01:37Z")
What odds if/when there’s a Supreme Court vacancy, Biden nominates Barack Obama? Looking forward gleefully to the asploding heads that would produce! And why not if Obama wanted it? How many men have served at the height of all three branches (and been so highly qualified to do so)? Talk about uppity eh? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/63 "2020-11-30T04:09:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Seriously, what do y’all think? Is the Senate, under Mitch’s recalcitrant (so-called) _leadership_ going to stonewall/ignore Biden’s Cabinet confirmations? I think it’s very unlikely that McConnell will not allow votes on Biden’s Cabinet nominees. He’ll make them bleed – baseless accusations, circus-like confirmation hearings – but he’ll allow them to come to a vote. And they’ll mostly limp across the confirmation finish line with Democratic votes plus a handful of Republicans. A couple may fall due to particular issues in their background, but that’s the way of Cabinet nominees. Remember that Clinton had to cast aside two nominees for Attorney General for having undocumented nannies before he got Janet Reno. But McConnell will mostly keep his powder dry for his real goal – a full blockade of judicial nominees. I think a lot of folks are assuming he won’t allow a Supreme Court nominee from Biden to come to a vote. But I predict he will also blockade any appellate court nominees as well. He _may_ allow some district court nominees as a sop to show that he’s allowing some judicial nominations to advance. But the appeals courts are where the vast majority of important cases are decided, given the very small number of cases that the Supreme Court agrees to hear. And Mitch McConnel didn’t spend the last four years filling every single vacancy on the appeals bench just to have Biden undo his work. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/64 "2020-11-30T17:09:34Z")
You got that right. > **[McConnell will blockade a Biden judiciary. Period. That's why Democrats need...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1999012)** > > Senator-elect Mark Kelly will be sworn in on Wednesday at noon when he becomes Sen. Mark Kelly, dropping Sen. Mitch McConnell's majority by one vote, 52-48. That's one vote closer to President-elect Joe Biden being able to repair the damage done to... > … The [usual suspects](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/20/biden-cabinet-senate-republicans-438459) among Republicans—Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney—say they’ll allow Biden’s Cabinet picks, but judicial nominees are a whole different ball game, being McConnell’s single focus. Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democrat who is vying for the top slot on the Judiciary Committee after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (finally) ceded that spot, is not optimistic, telling Politico that Biden will have “very little” impact on the judiciary if Democrats don’t get the Senate. “If the last two years of the Obama administration were any indication, they’ll freeze them out,” Durbin said. “Hope springs eternal but I believe in history.” That’s a welcome embrace of reality, at least. > … > > There are just 59 vacancies in the judiciary right now because of McConnell’s three-year conveyer belt of confirmations. He’s got 36 nominees in the pipeline now and wants to jam them all through in the lame duck. Even with the two Georgia seats potentially flipping, Biden is not going to be able to reform the courts, at least not in his first two years. But those two years—before the next midterms and another defensive year for Republicans in the Senate—could bring another Supreme Court nominee and any number of vacancies that could open through retirements. Which means Biden needs the Senate. Period. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/65 "2020-12-02T22:11:41Z")
> **[Opinion | Joe Biden has to move fast](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/02/joe-biden-has-move-fast/)** > > The Republican strategy will be to obstruct and delay, dragging out appointments and legislation as long as possible. He shouldn't fall for it. Biden needs to hit the ground running. Or maybe not even bother hitting the ground at all. > … > For every day of his presidency, Joe Biden will be restrained and bedeviled by Republican power. Republicans will probably retain control of the Senate, and even if they don’t, they will do everything they can to sabotage Biden’s agenda. They will obstruct and delay, whether it’s on legislation, appointments or anything else, to make sure Biden has as little as possible to show for his time in office. > > Unfortunately, Biden is naturally inclined to respond in just the way Republicans counting on. He’s a compromiser, a dealmaker — a man who wants to believe that there are bipartisan solutions to be found. > … > > Biden should give as much authority as possible to the agencies to let them dismantle their particular corners of the Trump legacy on their own, because the task “simply will not happen if approached sequentially or micromanaged” by a White House staff with limited bandwidth. > > **That means moving on every policy area all at once. There’s nothing to be gained by putting off any part of Biden’s agenda. Whatever he _can_ do given the limits of his power, he _should_ do as soon as possible, in a flood of policymaking.** > > Even if Democrats win both Georgia races and control the Senate, Biden should acknowledge that he likely has two years until the 2022 midterm elections to pass whatever legislation he can. Not only will Democrats probably lose one or both houses in the inevitable backlash (as happens to most presidents in their first midterm), the only possible chance at forestalling that result is to get _results_ , as many as possible, that he can show the voters. > > **Republicans will complain that Biden is being partisan, uncompromising, taking a “my way or the highway” approach. It will be a strategy to convince everyone of the lie that Biden and Democrats might be able to find some way of winning them over, when in fact they’ll be implementing a strategy of total opposition.** > > If Biden follows them on that fruitless quest, he’ll be running in circles while crucial time passes and nothing gets done. **The only option for him is to decide not to care about Republican whining** and do what he got elected to do with all haste. The alternative is failure. My bold. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/66 "2020-12-02T23:38:11Z")
Okay! They’re doin’ it! > **[Biden transition team races to foil McConnell, staff as many positions as...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1999468)** > > President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is well aware that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is unlikely to do anything to ease the path for the new administration if he remains the majority leader after the Georgia Senate runoffs.... > … > They’re racing to tap appointees for all the lower-lever jobs that don’t require Senate confirmation, especially in national security positions. That will allow his administration to start implementing his agenda—and cleaning up Trump messes—immediately, without having to wait for the top leadership to be confirmed. > … ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/67 "2020-12-10T20:18:55Z")
[https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-cabinet-senate-republicans-33812b63-c359-4fa4-bbdd-0fc28abdc3e5.html](https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-cabinet-senate-republicans-33812b63-c359-4fa4-bbdd-0fc28abdc3e5.html) > Some Senate Republicans are refusing to commit to confirmation hearings or votes for Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks while election challenges from President Trump and others continue to play out. > > **Why it matters:** The foot-dragging could prevent the president-elect from having key team members in place on Day One — just six weeks from today. > > **"As long as there’s litigation ongoing** , and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Axios. > > - Sen. Ron Johnson, who holds sway as chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said, “There’s still some pretty troubling irregularities that haven’t been explained.” > … ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/68 "2020-12-10T23:05:04Z")
The next four years are going to be a debacle. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/69 "2020-12-11T16:39:36Z")
Let’s see how the midterms play out. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/70 "2020-12-14T17:44:55Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Let’s see how the midterms play out… “It’s Biden’s fault that we did not cooperate in any way, shape or form and obstructed every single thing the administration or Congress proposed.” ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/71 "2020-12-14T18:19:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The foot-dragging could prevent Biden from having key team members in place on Day 1. Presidents never have a significant number of key team members confirmed by the Senate on Day 1. Look at the Senate confirmation dates for Trump Cabinet members: > **[Cabinet of Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump)** > > Donald Trump assumed office as president of the United States on January 20, 2017, and his term ended on January 20, 2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution. > Before confirmation and during congressional hearings a high-level career member of an executive department heads this pre-confirmed cabinet on an acting basis. The Cabinet's creation was part of ... ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/72 "2020-12-14T18:36:47Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Presidents never have a significant number of key team members confirmed by the Senate on Day 1. Look at the Senate confirmation dates for Trump Cabinet members: Traditionally there’s been an effort to at least get the key national security positions confirmed on or before inauguration day. Obama had his secretaries of state, defense and homeland security in place on day one (although defense was a holdover from the Bush administration that did not require Senate confirmation). Trump had his picks for defense and homeland security confirmed on Inauguration Day, with Rex Tillerson being confirmed for Secretary of State on Feb. 1. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/73 "2020-12-14T20:14:44Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Presidents never have a significant number of key team members confirmed by the Senate on Day 1. Look at the Senate confirmation dates for Trump Cabinet members: Are you clinging to the fairy tale that this is business as usual? It’s not. > **[Cruz suggests Senate Republicans will block Biden cabinet nominees indefinitely](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/12/10/2001116/-Cruz-suggests-Senate-Republicans-will-block-Biden-cabinet-nominees-indefinitely)** > > You may be wondering how long Senate Republicans intend to keep up the fiction that President-elect Joe Biden may not be the true next president of the United States. The answer appears to be: until the very day of the inauguration, and possibly... > On Team Fascism, [Sen. Ted Cruz suggested to Axios](https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-cabinet-senate-republicans-33812b63-c359-4fa4-bbdd-0fc28abdc3e5.html) that the Senate simply won’t be moving to confirm any of Biden’s Cabinet picks, or even hold hearings on them, anytime in the near future. “As long as there’s litigation ongoing, and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee,” he told Axios. Given that noted delusionist Donald Trump will be “disputing” the results of the election from now until the day he is tucked into his mausoleum, we can presume from this that the Senate will refuse to hold confirmation hearings for Biden’s nominees until at least Jan. 20—meaning that Biden will take office with no national security, intelligence, justice, or pandemic heads in place. It takes little imagination to suppose that corrupt Republicans will continue to cast doubt on the election results for weeks or months after that, meaning there is a nontrivial chance that Cruz and allies will claim the controversy nullifies Biden’s ability to appoint any Senate-confirmable government heads indefinitely. > > In prior transitions, the Senate would begin the process of vetting nominees before the new president takes office. (Axios cites the Center for Presidential Transition on this, which says 95% of prior Cabinet nominees have been given hearings before the inauguration.) This is to ensure the stability of the transition, especially as it relates to foreign threats and other national security concerns. **This is _not_ a normal transition** , because it comes in the context of numerous Republican elected officials attempting to Do A Treason, demanding that courts reinstall the Republicans by force rather than acknowledging their defeat. And, to be blunt, Senate Republicans have proven time and time again that national security concerns are negotiable, and public safety questions are absolutely irrelevant when it comes to protecting and expanding party power. > … My bold. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > “It’s Biden’s fault that we did not cooperate in any way, shape or form and obstructed every single thing the administration or Congress proposed.” And yes, Biden will be blamed by Republicans AND Democrats for “not getting things done,” just as Obama was blamed. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/74 "2020-12-15T12:44:45Z")
Regarding Trump’s newly appointed members of the Pentagon Defense Policy Board - can’t Biden dismiss them as soon as he sworn in? Do they have access to classified information and can the career people at the Pentagon freeze them out until January 20? Why would one even accept the position if it is so temporary? Resume? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/75 "2020-12-15T13:18:41Z")
Who cares about the Electoral College? The Biden administration can finally begin because Vlad checked in: [https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1bW883?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1bW883?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare) Reported in multiple outlets. Donnie’s feelings will be very very hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/76 "2020-12-15T21:26:24Z")
Sad. Next will be Little Rocket Man sending Biden a love note. Donnie will feel so jilted. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/77 "2020-12-17T13:00:52Z")
> **[Biden launches quiet effort to tame Senate - San Antonio Express, 12/17/2020](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanAntonioExpressNews/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=SAEN%2F2020%2F12%2F17&entity=Ar00901&sk=01C9AA7A&mode=text)** > > San Antonio Express - 12/17/2020 > … > In a meeting Monday, Biden insisted to supporters that he could work with Republicans, despite the continued refusal of some GOP senators even to acknowledge his victory. “I may eat these words, but I predict to you: As Donald Trump’s shadow fades away, you’re going to see an awful lot change,” Biden said on a call with grass-roots supporters. > > Many Democrats are skeptical, saying Senate Republicans’ determination to torpedo Democratic initiatives long predated Trump’s presidency. > > But Biden’s agenda, from nominations to spending bills, will depend in no small measure on whether he can manage the Senate. **As a 36-year veteran of the chamber, he is invested in the belief that he can succeed where Obama often failed.** > … > Biden mused that it could take “six to eight months” before his new working relationship with the GOP was established, while also saying that he had already heard from seven “mostly senior” Republican senators. > > “You’re going to be surprised,” Biden promised. “We’re going to have a lot of people wanting to work with us.” > … God bless this man’s incredible optimism. If anyone can pull this off, Biden can. The line I bolded-- that’s where the rubber will meet the road. I have to believe, in my heart of hearts, that SOME Republican Senators are weary of being 100% obstructionist… blocking stuff year after year after year, ignoring the well-being of the very citizens who sent them to Washington. I know Mitch never gets tired of it, but I can’t believe ALL of them want to continue being such horses’ asses. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/78 "2020-12-17T13:52:05Z")
Senators who do nothing but obstruct will never have their names preserved in the popular title of a famous law, such as McCain-Feingold. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/79 "2020-12-17T16:25:47Z")
I don’t know if you’re being flip, but this is actually a great point. “Do you want to be just another ‘no’ vote, or do you want your name associated with something that makes life better for Americans?” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/80 "2020-12-17T16:28:07Z")
It’s actually a really good point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=5)