President Joe Biden virtue-signaled about climate change on Thursday, the same day the massive $1.7 billion omnibus bill was flown to the Virgin Islands for his signature.
“One of the reasons I ran for office was to confront the existential threat climate change poses to our nation and to the world. With the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, we took the biggest step towards that goal in American history,” Biden tweeted.
Ironically, the omnibus bill, which averts a government shutdown, had to be flown to St. Croix, where Biden is vacationing with his family.
The Bidens departed Washington on Tuesday, and Congress delivered the bill to the White House for Biden’s signature on Wednesday. That means had Biden waited one more day before leaving, it would not have been necessary to transport the bill to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The White House confirmed the bill’s flight, but tried to save face by noting it was transported via commercial aircraft.
“The White House received the bill from Congress late afternoon on Wednesday. The bill was delivered to the President for his signature by White House staff on a regularly scheduled commercial flight,” a White House official said.
Biden’s holiday vacation has already generated criticism.
It comes as the border is overwhelmed by migrants, creating a serious humanitarian crisis, and tens of thousands of Americans were stranded after Southwest Airlines experienced a meltdown, resulting in thousands of canceled flights over the Christmas holiday.
Meanwhile, CNN reported, “It’s at least the second time this year that an important bill has been flown to Biden for his signature. While on a trip to Asia in May, a bill authorizing about $40 billion in aid to Ukraine was carried by a staffer who was already scheduled to travel to the region. Biden signed the bill while overseas.”