Biden’s aides are frustrated by his indecision on policies like student loan waivers and China tariffs that have dragged on for a YEAR, the report says
- President Joe Biden’s staff is frustrated by his indecision on policies like student loan waivers and China tariffs
- Biden is “driving officials in his administration a little crazy,” Politico’s West Wing Playbook wrote on Wednesday
- Discussions on key issues have dragged on for a year as Biden has sought more information and data
- “The bias in the Biden administration … is the inaction,” said a former White House official who worked for both Biden and former President Donald Trump
President Joe Biden’s staff is frustrated by his indecision on policies like student loan waivers and China tariffs.
Biden is “driving officials a little nuts across his administration,” Politico’s West Wing Playbook wrote Wednesday, as discussions on some of these key issues dragged on for over a year.
“The bias in the Biden administration … is the inaction,” said a former White House official who worked for both Biden and former President Donald Trump. “The way you enable that is you say, ‘We should take a closer look at this. We should get more data. We should do more studies.’ So you get a lot of it.’
President Joe Biden is “driving officials across his administration a little insane,” Politico’s West Wing Playbook wrote Wednesday of perceived indecision on policies like student loan waivers and China tariffs
Aiders are growing frustrated because Biden hasn’t made decisions about policies like student loans (left) and Chinese tariffs. Biden said Wednesday he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) in the next 10 days but would not reveal what he would say to the leader about tariffs
Sources told Politico that Biden’s decision-making process is dragging on as the president insists on every minute detail.
And when questions can’t be answered, the president prefers an official to find out – leading to more meetings and therefore delays.
A number of sources characterized Biden as thoughtful, not indecisive, noting that this is a refreshing change from his predecessor, who often tweeted important policy changes without warning the relevant authorities.
They also argued that Biden moves quickly when he has to.
“Throughout most of his career, Joe Biden has been successful in moving carefully and deliberately,” an administration official told Politico.
And in the past, Biden has criticized indecisiveness.
In his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose, Biden wrote about how former President Barack Obama “willfully made a mistake.”
“Just trust your instincts, Mr. President,” I would say to him,” Biden recalled being Obama’s vice president. “For important decisions that needed to be made quickly, I had learned over the years that a president would never have more than about 70 percent of the information needed.”
“Once you’ve reviewed the experts, statistics, data and information, you must be willing to go with your gut,” Biden wrote.
Biden has yet to make a decision on whether he will support the widespread cancellation of student loans, as some in his party have supported.
Last month he said a number of options remained on the table, including further extending the COVID-related payment pause in the future.
Federal student loans are due to be repaid on August 31.
On Wednesday, Biden told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews that he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next 10 days – but hesitated when asked what he could tell the Chinese leader about tariffs.