Josh Hawley: Republicans Can Learn from Democrats’ Legislative Success

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on Monday that Republicans can learn from Democrats’ legislative success and that Republicans “better be willing to fight” should they take back Congress.

I’ll give the Dems this. With a 50/50 Senate & a historically unpopular president, they passed major (terrible) legislation. Lots of it. They came to do something. There’s a lesson there for the GOP. If they get back Congress, they better be willing to fight

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 8, 2022

Hawley released his statement after Senate Democrats just passed the $700 billion Inflation Reduction Act. Now that the bill looks poised to pass through the House later this week, this will mark the latest legislative success for President Joe Biden and his congressional majority.

Biden, with the help of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has been “one of the most legislatively successful presidents of the modern era,” according to Politico.

Indeed, Biden has been able to pass major legislation despite having a one-member majority in the Senate and a four-member majority in the House.

This includes:

• The $1.9 trillion American Recovery Act, Biden’s coronavirus relief bill
• The $550 billion so-called Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
• The $280 billion Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act
• $700 billion Inflation Reduction Act

Much of his legislative success arose from Republican support for these bills. It also arose from the failed legislative strategy of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who promised to block the CHIPS bill if Democrats chose to pursue the Inflation Reduction Act. Once Schumer passed the CHIPS bill with Republican support, Democrats moved forward with the Inflation Reduction Act.

Other Senate Republicans admitted Democrats tricked them into passing another major bill and creating a pathway to passing the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, “Yesterday’s announcement by Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer showed again that too many Senate Republicans unfortunately trusted Democrats and got duped. Some are pretending to be shocked. It’s not shocking at all.”