WASHINGTON — Thursday marks one year since President Joe Biden took office and Wisconsin lawmakers are divided on his agenda’s impact on the state.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden enters his second term facing subpar approval ratings, unified Republican opposition to his agenda and two Democrats blocking movement on two key legislative priorities in the Senate

  • Democrats believe voters will respond favorably to the president's massive investment in infrastructure across the country and stimulus money injected into the economy in response to the pandemic

  • Republicans said voters are concerned by the administration's spending amid inflation concerns

“It’s been a year of challenges but also a year of enormous progress,” the president said during a press conference on Wednesday.

His second year will get off to a tumultuous start as it will be shadowed by the surge of the omicron variant and stymied by two senators from his own party who are blocking large parts of his agenda.

“I think he wants to express his own frustration at the lack of progress he's been able to make, but probably deflect blame for that, citing other factors,” said Larry Parnell, director of George Washington University’s strategic public relations master’s program. “Ultimately, what people are going to measure him by are things he promised to do and has not yet been able to do. And today, of course, voting rights is a high topic of interest for lots of people.”

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a sweeping bill that aims to roll back restrictive state laws some Republican-controlled states enacted after the 2020 election, has stalled in the Senate for months. Without support from any GOP lawmakers, Democrats have called for a change to the chamber's fillibusters rules to allow a simple majority vote on the legislation. But Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, said they will not support that change.

However, Congressman Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, believes the president is rounding the corner with substantial wins that his constituents are noticing.

“Now we're making the largest infrastructure investment in over a generation to rebuild Wisconsin rebuild America again,” said Rep. Kind. “But let's not also overlook the American Rescue Plan. That, too, was a tremendous accomplishment. We're able to expedite the production and distribution of vaccines and masks. We’re also able to provide aid and resources to schools that help them open in a safe manner for our children.”

Rep. Kind represents a district that has gradually turned conservative. While Biden narrowly won the state by just over 20,000 votes in 2020, Donald Trump picked up the majority of votes in his district two elections in a row.

“It's one of the last remaining swing districts in the nation,” said Rep. Kind. “I wish all the districts in our country look like the third congressional district of Wisconsin because, I think, elected officials would have to play fair and work harder to find common ground and work in a bipartisan fashion.”

Wisconsin Republicans, however, are unconvinced.

“I think what we're seeing is spending out of control,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville. “I think individuals who are seeing costs go up by an average of 7 percent feel like they're being punched in the face. Wages are not keeping up with rising inflation. Families continue to struggle to be able to afford whether or not it's groceries or filling up their car with gas. We have to change course.”

Analysts said Biden’s second year will have to be a reset. There are fewer opportunities to move massive partisan legislative proposals now.

“The problem is the stakes have been made very high and perhaps the prize was too big to try to pass multi-trillion dollar bills and broad-reaching changes,” said Parnell.

Parnell said in order to convince Wisconsin voters he’s doing a good job he’ll have to fulfill his promise to work across the aisle.

“For someone like Biden, a moderate is not going to make either side particularly happy but isn't going to anger them either,” said Parnell. “For him, as a moderate, Wisconsin is probably a pretty good state. It’s blue collar. There are highly educated people, there are Liberals, all those all those constituencies that the Democrats look to. But I do think he has to be himself.”