(CNSNews.com) – President Biden touted his climate change agenda on the world stage Friday at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, but given that Congress could end up in Republican hands, he faces the challenge of reassuring world leaders that whatever agreements they reach will be codified by Congress.
When asked Thursday how the president plans to do so, the White House said that Biden has “the wind at his back” and he has “a level of trust” with world leaders, because they’ve seen him deliver on legislative wins prior to traveling overseas before most recently with the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“The president is obviously going to this climate summit, to COP27. How does he reassure leaders, given that he is anticipating a Republican Congress, that any new agreements that they come to will be carried out here, will be codified if need be, given that he’s got to reach across the aisle with Republicans?” a reporter asked.
“Well, I think — I mean, this is a president who has been in front of world leaders, who have — who has traveled abroad, as you know, multiple times in the past 20-plus months of his presidency and, let’s not forget, as vice president and, let’s not forget, as senator,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“So he has, as we know, a lot of respect for some of these leaders. He has very close relationships with many of these leaders. He has done business, if you will, and talked about really key important issues over the last few years, if not decades. So I think there’s a level of trust and understanding on how this works, and, you know, I — I also feel as if — I also think that we don’t want to go too far — right? — because we’re still waiting on results,” she said.
“We’re still waiting on what will happen with — with Congress, both the Senate and the House, but again, it was a good night for Democrats,” the press secretary said.
“It was a historic night for Democrats, and like [National Security Adviser] Jake [Sullivan] said just from here, just moments ago, the president goes into — you know, goes to Asia with the wind at his back, and it’s not the first time,” Jean-Pierre said.
“One of the last times he went, it was the bipartisan infrastructure legislation. You know, there are wins that he — they have seen us deliver on, and so I think there’s — there is a level of trust with this particular president,” she said.