Another point of contention was the opposition to some of his cabinet appointments, which were sometimes twofold. However, Biden made it clear on Wednesday that he did not blame the Senate for the delayed confirmation.
“I take the blame for not having a rational transition,” Biden told reporters. ‘As you know, previous administrations had a large number of their cabinet confirmed before they were even sworn in. That’s the tradition. ‘
President and Vice President Kamala Harris met with eight senators and three members of the House earlier in the day. The group discussed supply chain issues that have caused problems, such as shortages of semiconductor chips and personal protective equipment needed by health workers working on the front lines of the pandemic.
Senator John Cornyn and rep. Michael McCaul, both Republicans from Texas, endorsed Biden’s comments, describing the meeting to reporters outside the West Wing as ‘very good’ and ‘very positive’.
“The president was very receptive, just like the vice president,” Cornyn said. “He said, ‘We’re all inside. ‘We all understand that this is important, not only for our economy, but also for our national security, because these leading, high-quality semiconductors – they work on everything from the F-35 fifth generation stealth fighter to our cell phones . So it was very positive. ”
Cornyn added that the group did not address the Covid-19 relief package during the meeting.
McCaul said he was pleased that the president considered the issue a high priority, and praised Biden for raising the issue within the first four weeks of his presidency.
Other Republicans who attended were sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana and Rob Portman of Ohio, as well as Representative John Joyce of Pennsylvania. Some of the Democrats were sensible, too. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, as well as Representative Doris Matsui of California.