Kaine: Democrats ‘blew the timing’ of infrastructure, spending bills

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Sunday said congressional Democrats “blew the timing” on passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and social spending package, suggesting that the timeline could have contributed to the party’s loss in Tuesday’s Virginia gubernatorial race.

Kaine, who represents Virginia and previously served as governor of the Old Dominion, said Democrats on Capitol Hill should have passed the two bills in October instead of letting internal party disagreements delay the vote.

He said an earlier vote could have boosted the campaign of Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe, who ultimately fell short by roughly 68,000 votes to Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.

“I think congressional Democrats blew the timing. We should’ve passed these bills in early October. If we had, it would have helped Terry McAuliffe probably win the governor’s race. It would have been good for President Biden,” Kaine told host Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The House on Friday gave final approval to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which the Senate passed in August. The bill now goes to Biden’s desk for his signature.

The vote brought an end to months of negotiations, which were drawn out because of internal disagreements among Democratic lawmakers. House moderates sought to pass the infrastructure after it was approved in the Senate before beginning deliberations on the larger $1.75 trillion social spending package, but progressives demanded that they be advanced together.

A cease-fire was finally struck in the caucus on Friday, when members agreed to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and advance the spending package, with commitments to give the larger bill final approval if the Congressional Budget Office score of the bill matches up with the White House’s estimates.

Kaine on Sunday said passing the bills earlier would have given McAuliffe “so much to sell” on the campaign trail.

The Virginia senator said Congress will ultimately “get the bills done” but noted that “we’re going to get them done weeks after the election.”

“We should have gotten them done weeks before the election,” he added.