On Friday, against the backdrop of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore's shuttered harbor, President Joe Biden forged a path straight towards partisan pushback regarding how his administration plans to rebuild the critical river crossing and vital Potomac River port. 

Biden proclaimed,

We’re going to move heaven and earth, to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. We’re gonna do so with union labor and American steel. For a simple reason: They’re the best workers in the world, and that’s not hyperbole.

As the White House sent an official request to Congress asking for authorization to cover the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, Biden vowed,

I fully intend, as the governor knows, to have the federal government cover the cost of the of the building of this entire bridge, all of it. All of it.

Biden's pledge clashed with conditions outlined by the House Freedom Caucus, the right-wing of the Republican conference, regarding the use of federal funds for the Key Bridge's rebuilding. In an official position document published on Friday, the caucus put forth criteria including waiving union "project labor agreements" and burdensome environmental regulations, "to avoid all unnecessary delays and costs." 

The conservative group also insisted that any funding for the bridge should be "fully offset," and that the Baltimore port first “draws upon already available federal funds." The caucus also demanded a condition before engaging in discussions about supplemental funding for the bridge; the Biden administration must lift its pause on approvals for liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects 

The Freedom Caucus wrote,

[The] Biden Administration’s pause on approvals of liquified natural gas export terminals — which, like the Baltimore harbor closure, has severe implications for foreign trade — must be lifted before Congress considers appropriating any funding for the bridge reconstruction.

The pause on approvals for new liquefied natural gas export terminals by the Biden administration was announced in January, citing a need to review the long-term impacts of the industry on the "climate crisis." When announced, the pause was speculated to last through the November presidential election. 

In a statement, Biden said,

We will take a hard look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment. This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time.

Additionally, the Freedom Caucus implored that the "single subject" rule be used, avoiding "pork," and that the bill be restricted to physical bridge repairs and not other projects, writing, 

[T]his funding must be limited to physical structure repairs with a federal nexus — this must not become a pork-filled bill loaded with unrelated projects and the House of Representatives must adhere to the ‘single subject’ rule.

The Freedom Caucus and Biden's clash over federal funding has created a partisan divide that seems like a bridge too far to cross. Can they mend this ideological gap or will it remain a political chasm?

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