Biden’s first week was a race to the left

His inaugural address was “grand and profoundly intimate,” a “balm for a wounded nation.” Mr Biden “met the challenge”, simply appearing at the oath “at a time of deep national vulnerability”. A veteran observer admitted to leaving him “to some extent”. I’m sure he did.

It is understandable that so many in the media welcomed Mr Biden’s rise to the oval office. They hated the person he replaced. But looking beyond the pages, the new president begins with a wet start, with too many discrepancies between the stated intentions and the subsequent actions.

Mr Biden is frequently calling for bipartisanship, but this will require his leadership. He will have to work with Republican leaders to find areas of agreement before revealing the legislation. At the Covid-19 stimulus, the president did nothing like that. Instead, he introduced his initiative without consulting Republicans and included several provisions and a $ 1.9 trillion price that he knew was unacceptable to GOP lawmakers. Now, rather than pass a bipartisan bill that strengthens vaccinations and gives the new administration an early victory, we hear about Democrats beating Covid by a party vote using the reconciliation procedure.

It recalls January 2009, when President Barack Obama cut off the GOP’s suggestions for his bill, telling House Minor Whip Eric Cantor, “I won.” This helped poison that administration’s relationship with its loyal opposition and propelled the GOP back into the House majority in 2010.

Mr Biden put forward a similar approach to immigration. The Biden transition team issued a four-page draft of its bill, difficult on the road to citizenship for illegal aliens (it looks like many could become citizens before some stand in line legally today) and light on border security. The latter is particularly worrying after the president stopped the construction of the border wall. The Obama administration has helped build the wall, but since President Trump supported it, President Biden is now opposed.

Bipartisanship is possible, even in difficult circumstances. After controversial elections, in 2001 President George W. Bush adopted a major tax cut and “No Child Left Behind” education reform with strong bipartisan support, the latter having a democratic Senate. To cut taxes, he negotiated with the Democrats on the package. For “No Child Left Behind,” he called on Democrats to change the legislation before it was introduced. Mr. Biden did not try any. In the meantime, Mr Biden’s initial nominations to the cabinet will be approved by large bipartisan margins. Republicans show they are willing to find a common ground.

There are other worrying differences between Mr Biden’s rhetoric and his actions. Take the Department of Homeland Security’s directive on disposal policies. It opens by saying that the US “faces significant operational challenges at the southwestern border” and must “bring resources to the border to ensure the safe, legal and orderly processing” of illegal smugglers. He therefore orders an “immediate 100-day break for moves.” Huh? America has an immigration crisis and the answer is to say olly olly oxen free? No wonder a federal judge immediately arrested him.

The new administration has rightly taken a hard line on China, repeating the sentiments expressed by the Trump State Department. But on Tuesday, Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island and nominated for Mr. Biden’s secretary of commerce, refused to promise that Huawei, China’s wireless service provider, would remain on the US department’s list of banned companies as a security threat. This was welcome news in Beijing.

Much of the praise for Mr Biden focuses on the difference from his predecessor. Warren Harding’s “normality” has its appeal. But it seems more and more as if the new president would offer reassuring words about bipartisanship and then offer political prescriptions favored by the left.

It’s early. Mr Biden has been in office for a week and is still finding his feet. But he has to decide: will he act on the central theme of his campaign, bipartisanship and unity? Or will it allow Congress Democrats and regulators to drive public policy to the left?

Early signs point to the latter, which could mean the greatest expansion of federal power since the Great Society and institutional changes that give progress a dominance over American politics. Let’s hope that Mr. Biden changes direction by finding actions that match his comforting words. If not, Republicans must find ways to control his leftist movement.

Mr. Rove helped organize the American Crossroads Political Action Committee and is the author of “William McKinley’s Triumph” (Simon & Schuster, 2015).