I joined BBC 5 Live’s Colin Murray early Thursday for a 20-minute, full-and-frank analysis of US politics, including the status of the historic proposals for infrastructure and the $3.5 trillion budget for social and environmental policies.

Listen to Discussion from 1:37.05

I cut through the white noise in the US media to pin responsibility on Republican leaders such as Mitch McConnell (pictured) for their obstruction of any legislation, irrespective of the benefits for Americans on issues from climate change to child poverty to health care to transport.

Then I go wider looking at McConnell and a dysfunctional media substituting over-the-top headlines for attention to those issues: after four Trumpian years, the historic legislation is facing a historic threat to the US political and social system.

The Biden Administration is doing what it said it wanted to do.

The Number 1 reason why that has not been achieved is not Biden. It’s not even the Democrats. It’s Republican obstruction, with Mitch McConnell as the chief villain in this piece if you’re looking for one.