The Atlantic

The Revolution Will Be Improvised

President Joe Biden’s hastily announced framework for his “Build Back Better” plan doesn’t mean the deal is done.
Source: Susan Walsh / AP

The word transformative appears five times in the White House’s announcement of a $1.75 trillion framework for tackling climate change and bolstering the social safety net. The word historic shows up another 12 times. But if Democrats are truly reshaping American government with President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, they’re doing it on the fly.

The recent frenzied days of negotiations over the plan have been confusing for seasoned veterans of the Capitol Hill sausage mill, not to mention the hundreds of congressional Democrats who must vote for the proposal and the millions of people whose lives stand to

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