A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster its prospects for keeping its hold on Congress in November’s elections.
The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, which is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party envisioned early last year.
Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress’ largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, a vote they believe will show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters.
Lawmakers across both parties in Congress reacted to Friday’s passage of the climate bill as well as their concerns after the FBI executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, including Rep. Dan Kildee (D) of Michigan’s fifth district:
"Well, I think people want everyone to be held accountable to the law, whether you're a president, a past president or an average citizen, nobody is above the law. And that's really the reaction that I've had. I think for the most part, people want to see the process play out. I agree with that. I don't want to interfere with what law enforcement is doing, but I think it would be wrong to take the position because this person is a former president, that we should look the other way when there could be violations of the law. We can't do that. And I don't think people would like to see that happen."
Kildee added: "He'll have his day in court. That's what people are going to say, what they're going to say to try to defend him. I think we ought to withhold judgment until everyone's had their chance to present the evidence and make the decision that the judicial system will make."
The FBI recovered documents that were labeled “top secret” from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
