Progressives Are Frustrated By Biden's Final-days Warning Of Billionaire Influence

The Democratic Party's left wing has warned for decades that America is moving toward an oligarchy in which a handful of billionaires controls much of the nation's wealth and political power.

President Joe Biden elevated such concerns from the Oval Office for the first time this week, just before he leaves office. In the hours that followed Biden's farewell address, progressives responded with a combination of appreciation, bemusement and frustration.

"Now he tells us," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote on X, referring also to Biden's ideas for the U.S. Supreme Court. "Biden speaks out against dark money, for climate action, and for SCOTUS term limits. I pressed four years for this speech."

For much of the last four years, progressives were among Biden's biggest cheerleaders . And many remain supportive. But for others, the Democratic president's words were too little and far too late as the leader of a political party that has increasingly welcomed big-dollar donors even as it railed against President-elect Donald Trump's cozy relationships with others, tech titan Elon Musk chief among them.

The debate over the influence of billionaires in U.S. politics could have major implications for the policies that come out of Washington and the political landscape in future elections.