Melina Mara/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Biden is spending big to expand the nation's safety net in the wake of the pandemic.
In his first 100 days, he spent $1.9 trillion and pitched another $4 trillion to assist families and create jobs.
"COVID has now created a stormwave of support for government," Barney Frank told Insider.
When he first stepped into the national spotlight, Joe Biden made a big gamble seeking to sweep aside the legacy of a Republican president who came to power pledging to diminish the reach of the federal government.
President Ronald Reagan was nearly done putting his imprint on national politics in the fall of 1987. He had declared government to be "terrifying," and resisted social safety net expansions. There was little appetite among voters for a major tax increase once Reagan slashed them for individuals and companies across the board.