Democrats are racing against the clock to nail down a deal ahead of President Biden’s trip to Europe, which commences today.
White House officials met on Wednesday with key holdouts, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who says he believes an agreement can still be reached.
“To expand social programs when you have trust funds that aren’t solvent, they’re going insolvent,” said Sen. Joe Manchin. “I can’t explain that, it doesn’t make sense to me. I want to work with everyone as long as we can start paying for things.”
The initial $3.5 trillion spending bill is now expected to be roughly half its original size, but would still address climate change, universal pre-k, and healthcare.
