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The last president to enter the Oval Office with the congressional credentials of Joe Biden was Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson 鈥� though Mr. Biden, who spent 36 years in the Senate, has him beat by more than a decade on the Hill. The two men did not overlap, but they experienced the same kind of Senate, one built on personal relationships, with wheeling and dealing across the aisle.

Today鈥檚 Senate is very different, and in many ways that鈥檚 a good thing (for instance, the growing presence of female lawmakers). But senators are now divided by a hard, partisan line, with Republicans and Democrats mostly firing at each other from their bunkers.

Yet as Congress finally moves forward on a $900 billion pandemic relief bill, announced Sunday night, some see glimmers of hope for the next term.聽The president-elect lays great worth on his relationships with members of both parties on the Hill, and hopes that will help pave the way to bipartisan agreements. Will his ties and experience make a difference?

The Monitor recently talked about all this with Sen. Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware who holds President-elect Biden鈥檚 former seat. The two men are close, and Senator Coons has already emerged as one of the incoming president鈥檚 key point people in Congress 鈥� a conduit between the White House and the Senate, and an emissary to GOP lawmakers.

The senator, who sits聽on the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees and is聽often in the thick of cross-party negotiations, says he鈥檚 hopeful about a better tone and more bipartisanship in Washington.

鈥淔rankly, we don鈥檛 have a choice,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his may be our last, best chance to show that we can make the Senate work.鈥�

What follows is an edited, condensed transcript of the interview.

Q: To what extent do personal relationships still matter in Washington?

This isn鈥檛 the Senate that Joe left 鈥� and it鈥檚 certainly not the Senate of 20 or 30 years ago, where senators mostly moved their families here, and socialized and readily worked across the aisle. Throughout the entire presidential campaign, lots of media commentators dismissed Joe Biden鈥檚 message of decency and civility and his hope for bipartisanship, and said that just couldn鈥檛 work anymore.

But in the real world, that鈥檚 what people want from their government 鈥� that we would respect each other, hear each other, compromise, and solve problems.聽

What I hear from my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, is they all believe he is a decent and caring man. That stands out, particularly in a place where there are so few chances to build and sustain real relationships.聽Now he鈥檚 going to have a chance to prove that you actually can do it.

Q: President-elect Biden told you he needed you in the Senate, rather than as secretary of state. What do you think your contribution can be for him in the Senate?

I鈥檒l give you an example. I鈥檝e had a series of conversations with John Cornyn. You know, John is a very capable partisan warrior from Texas. He has recently taken to somewhat jokingly calling me his 鈥淎mbassador of Quan鈥� [from the movie聽Jerry Maguire]. He sort of pokes me in the ribs and points other Republicans to me and says, 鈥渉e鈥檚 your Ambassador of Quan 鈥� he鈥檚 the guy who鈥檚 going to help us figure out how to work together.鈥�

Cornyn is someone who is probably going to chair the immigration subcommittee. He鈥檚 been a pretty tough hard-liner on immigration.聽

[But] he had a really good, positive opening call with the president-elect and I鈥檓 optimistic that I can help weave together a constructive and positive relationship, and that Dick Durbin [Democrat of Illinois] and John Cornyn can end up making progress on an issue like Dreamers that really has eluded us.

I鈥檓 not saying that we鈥檙e all going to suddenly be standing arm in arm, singing 鈥淜umbaya鈥� on the floor of the Senate. But if you listen to your colleagues and figure out what they most care about, it is possible to find good partners and get things done.聽

Q: How did you first come to know Joe Biden? You鈥檝e mentioned him as a mentor. What has he taught you?

I was a law-student intern on the Senate Judiciary Committee 30 years ago. I got to know Joe Biden just a little bit, mostly by watching him during hearings. It鈥檚 when I ran for New Castle County council that we first started talking most regularly. He was a New Castle County councilman, and the only other person in Delaware history to go from county government straight to the U.S. Senate.

Most people who run for office for the first time are all excited about their policy platforms. He said, first, you have to listen more than you talk. You have to actually recognize that the people you鈥檙e running to represent, they鈥檝e got their policy platform. And it鈥檚 probably very direct things like 鈥渇ix the pothole.鈥� So don鈥檛 overthink it. Listen.

But second, you need to know what you鈥檙e willing to lose [an election] over.聽

Here鈥檚 his other piece of advice, often repeated: You can always question a Senate colleague鈥檚 policy conclusions, but don鈥檛 question their motives. When you go to the floor and denounce a colleague as being bought and sold by big tobacco or something, you prevent them from ever being able or willing to compromise with you or work with you, once you鈥檝e questioned their integrity.

Now, having watched today鈥檚 remarkable exchange at the Homeland Security Committee hearing about electoral fraud, where Senator [Ron] Johnson of Wisconsin, was yelling at Senator [Gary] Peters that he鈥檚 a liar over and over, it鈥檚 striking to reflect that Joe could say to me that as of 2000, he wasn鈥檛 aware of any time when any of his colleagues had questioned each other鈥檚 motives or integrity on the floor of the Senate.

So, I do think the institution is under genuine strain. The last four years have been particularly hard on that front, in terms of a commitment to respect and civility and truthfulness.

Q: You mentioned how the media discounted Biden鈥檚 message. Do you think they鈥檙e underestimating the desire for normalcy in politics on the Hill?

Absolutely. I have had conversations with a dozen Republicans of all levels of seniority, from the brand new to the seasoned, saying that they鈥檙e just relieved 鈥� that the last four years have been exhausting. And whether you love him and support him, or you loathe him and find him appalling, one thing Donald Trump was, was a master at holding the attention of our nation and changing it to a new crisis, a new issue, a new challenge every single week, often every day, sometimes within the same day. It was a wild ride.

Lots of members of the Senate of both parties have confided in me that they are looking forward to a little more normal, civil, traditional dialogue between the Senate and the White House. And that, as much as people will have small comments or complaints or concerns about nominees, the one clear thing about the cabinet that Joe Biden is assembling now is this is a very seasoned and experienced group. And that鈥檚 going to make for less sudden, unexpected, abrupt changes in direction and policy.

Q: After the caustic Supreme Court nomination hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, you said you were going to redouble your efforts at getting to know your Republican colleagues. Did you follow up on that?

Yes. There are literally a dozen Republicans who will tell you that I have redoubled my efforts. It鈥檚 been hard because Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Johnny Isakson, and John McCain were wonderful partners [who have retired or, in Senator McCain鈥檚 case, died]. I got a lot done with them.

It鈥檚 been challenging to have to start anew with a bunch of other colleagues. But the best example I can give you is Mike Braun [Republican of Indiana]. Mike鈥檚 in his first two years and is literally one of the most conservative people I鈥檝e ever met. Yet he and I have founded and are leading the Climate Solutions Caucus together.

We talk regularly. There are 14 members, seven Republicans, seven Democrats. Even in the midst of a pandemic, we did events every single month, often two a month. Think about it. You got seven Republicans who are publicly saying climate change is real, people cause it, and we urgently need to do something about it.

A part of it is we鈥檙e in the prayer breakfast together. And a part of it is I made the effort to go meet with [Senator Braun] and sit down and listen and ask him what he cared about and what he wanted to work on.聽

When my friend Joe Donnelly was running against Mike Braun, I never in a million years would have guessed I鈥檇 be having a productive working relationship with that guy. And yet, here we are.聽