WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – In the midst of tense negotiations in the US Congress about huge investment packages and budget plans, parliamentarians and President Joe Biden have given each other a break – at baseball. On the eve of an important day in the American Parliament, the traditional congressional baseball game was played in the US capital, in which members of the Democratic and Republican MPs compete against each other for charitable purposes. Biden paid an impromptu visit to the game at the Washington Nationals baseball team stadium on Wednesday night (local time).
Biden – without a tie and in a baseball cap – chatted with players from both teams. For the teams of Democrats and Republicans, mostly MPs from the House of Representatives ran, but also individual senators – including a newcomer to the chamber, the 34-year-old Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff from the state of Georgia. The Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was also there and cheered on her party colleagues.
The congressional baseball game has a long history. It has been held every year since 1909. The proceeds go to charity. Last year the game was canceled due to the corona pandemic. This year it was postponed for a few weeks and now fell into a very turbulent phase.
Biden is currently fighting to get two huge investment packages through Congress. There could be an important vote here on Thursday. Both chambers also have to decide on transitional financing for the government on Thursday, a few hours before the end of the budget year, in order to avert a “shutdown” from Friday, ie a partial standstill in government business. And: There is a risk of an unprecedented default by the government in mid-October if Congress does not pass an increase or suspension of the debt ceiling by then./jac/DP/zb
