WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden went public Monday with her frustration over a political process that she says treats legislation like a football to “pass or pivot” while real people…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden went public Monday with her frustration over a political process that she says treats legislation like a football to “pass or pivot” while real people, such as her community college students, wait assistance that would help them build better futures. “Governing isn’t a game. There are no teams to root for or against, just people, Americans from all walks of life who need help and hope,” t he first lady told a meeting of advocates for community colleges in a message that also seemed directed at members of Congress. She was talking about a proposal to make community colleges tuition free, promised during the 2020 presidential campaign but now dropped from a much larger social welfare and climate bill that was a core domestic priority for her husband, President Joe Biden. Her pointed comments were unusual since first ladies generally try to avoid being drawn into the political fray or getting too involved in the legislative process. But the issue is deeply personal for Jill Biden, who has taught at community colleges for many years and is a longtime advocate of waiving tuition to help the students who attend these schools. She worked on the issue during the Obama administration, when her husband was vice president. President Biden scrapped the tuition plan as he tried to win the support of key Senate Democrats who objected to the scope and cost of the overall measure, and whose votes he desperately needed given solid opposition from Republicans in a chamber split 50-50.
