Quickly after an enormous container ship struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing it down, President Biden pledged that the federal authorities would “pay your complete value of reconstructing” the bridge. This is able to clearly be the proper factor to do, not simply to assist the state of Maryland but in addition to restrict the financial harm from a catastrophe that has blocked each a significant street artery and a significant port. Amongst different issues, the Port of Baltimore performs a key position in each exports of coal and commerce in farm and development gear, so the bridge catastrophe could have direct antagonistic results on the heartland in addition to the East Coast.
And if America have been nonetheless the identical nation that enacted the Federal-Help Freeway Act of 1956 — handed with overwhelming bipartisan assist in Congress and signed into regulation by a Republican president — which gave rise to our Interstate System, there can be little query that Congress would approve funding quickly after it returns from Easter recess.
However we aren’t that nation anymore. Biden will in all probability be capable to get funds for rebuilding, nevertheless it’s in no way a positive factor.
The rise of MAGA Republicans is just a part of the issue. I’ve seen a number of folks citing the response to the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minnesota for instance of what issues have been like in a greater political period. Certainly, inside days, Congress voted unanimously to offer $250 million in support.
However that was a one-off. The Minnesota bridge collapse highlighted the decaying state of America’s infrastructure, and one may need anticipated the catastrophe to result in actual motion, nevertheless it didn’t. President Barack Obama pleaded with Congress to approve broad will increase in infrastructure spending and was in a position to signal a freeway funding invoice in 2015, however for probably the most half he was stymied by G.O.P. opposition. As president, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to revamp America’s infrastructure — “it’s infrastructure week” grew to become a working joke — however by no means delivered.
Main motion on infrastructure didn’t occur till late 2021 with the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation — which, regardless of the title, acquired solely 13 Republican votes within the Home. And that was with Democrats in full management of Congress. It’s not silly to fret that MAGA hard-liners will block support to Maryland in a lot the identical approach that they’ve blocked support to Ukraine.
However, once more, MAGA is just a part of the issue. Let’s speak for a minute about why it took 14 years after the Minnesota bridge collapse for us to lastly take main motion on infrastructure.
Excessive partisanship, which took maintain lengthy earlier than Trump took management of the G.O.P., is a part of the reply. It was clear via many of the Obama years that Republicans needed to stop good issues from occurring on a Democratic president’s watch. Beneath Obama, G.O.P. legislators squeezed federal spending after they took management of the Home, supposedly as a result of they have been apprehensive about authorities debt, solely to open up the faucets as soon as Trump took workplace.
There was additionally a component of reflexive opposition to authorities spending on the whole, irrespective of how apparent the necessity. Mitch McConnell, as Senate majority chief, didn’t do a lot to oppose Trump — however he did put the brakes on infrastructure spending.
Lastly, to the extent that Trump had something like an infrastructure plan, it was very, properly, Trumpian. Even earlier than he took workplace, I predicted that he wouldn’t truly do a lot to construct infrastructure, as a result of he and his associates clearly weren’t involved in producing a clear plan for presidency funding. As an alternative, they have been floating a roundabout scheme involving tax credit that wouldn’t have generated vital new funding however in all probability would have supplied enormous alternatives for cronyism and corruption.
The historical past right here is cause sufficient to fret about rebuilding in Baltimore, even when the bridge collapse hadn’t been caught up in tradition struggle politics. However in fact it has.
MAGA politicians and media figures wasted no time after the bridge collapse making an attempt to forged blame on the standard suspects, together with funds meant to be spent on inexperienced vitality and, specifically, variety initiatives: Within the instant wake of the Key Bridge collapse, a Republican state legislator from Utah replied to a put up on X disparaging a member of the Maryland Port Fee, writing, “That is what occurs when you may have Governors who prioritize variety over the wellbeing and safety of residents”; a Republican former state legislator from Florida posted a video clip of the Key Bridge collapsing with the caption, “DEI did this.” Baltimore’s mayor, Brandon Scott, has been a particular goal on X, the positioning previously generally known as Twitter, for no obvious cause aside from the truth that he’s Black.
As The New Republic’s Greg Sargent factors out, among the MAGA response to the bridge collapse is harking back to Trump’s habits in the course of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he whined about “bailouts” for states that didn’t assist him politically.
So will partisanship and conspiracy theorizing get in the best way of rebuilding the Key Bridge? I’d prefer to dismiss that danger. However not that way back, if you happen to had requested me, I wouldn’t have anticipated Republicans to stonewall support to Ukraine, both. So that is no time to be complacent.
