'They have not had to cast one bloody vote … and we have got the change that.'
’s hopes of passing election reform and spending packages have stalled in the upper chamber.
"What has bothered me very much is that the Republicans are laughing all the way to Election Day," Sanders remarked on CNN’s "State of the Union," acknowledging Biden’s $1.7 trillion social spending and climate package failed to pass the Senate, currently split 50-50 along party lines. "They have not had to cast one bloody vote … and we have got the change that."
After weeks of negotiations, two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, of Arizona, decided not to support the legislation, and in doing so, Sanders argued they "sabotaged the president’s effort to address the needs of working families in this country.""It's not only those two," Sanders told CNN host Dana Bash.
Sen. Bernie Sanders arrives for President Joe Biden's address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, April 28, 2021.After closed-door negotiations failed, Sanders proposed putting each policy issue on the Senate floor up for a vote and to then craft legislation around parts of the Democratic agenda that can pass.
"We have allowed the Republicans to get away with murder. They haven’t had to vote on anything," Sanders said, arguing he’s confident he could get 50 or more votes in favor of some issues in the package. "I think there is widespread understanding that what we have done for the last six months has failed from a policy point of view. It has failed politically. We need to change course.