The White House on Wednesday sought to quell tensions between centrist Democrats and progressives in a series of meetings as the party seeks a path forward to implement President Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar spending plan. Biden touted “progress” during three “productive and candid” meetings throughout the day, in a statement from the White House Wednesday night (The Hill). Early in the afternoon, he sat down with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Shortly after, Biden met with a number of centrist members, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), for more than an hour and a half. The president also met with progressives, headlined by including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) in the evening (The Hill). The round of discussions came amid a trying week for the party in power. Leaders have looked on in frustration as non-stop friendly fire has raged within both chambers over the status of the $3.5 reconciliation package and the potential vote set for Monday on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. Progressives are threatening to sink the latter bill unless the larger bill is voted on, leaving centrists fuming. “It truly is a shame that they’re using that as a hostage,” Manchin told reporters following the meeting, adding that he believes a reconciliation bill can come together “eventually.” “There's just too much in the reconciliation to do as quickly as you can” (CNN). The New York Times: Biden huddles with Democrats as divisions threaten his agenda. The Wall Street Journal: Biden pushes Democrats to find consensus on budget package. Mike Lillis, Alexander Bolton and Scott Wong, The Hill: Pelosi signals she won't move $3.5 trillion bill without Senate-House deal. The Hill: Manchin: Biden told moderates to pitch price tag for reconciliation bill. © Getty Images The meetings come during a crazed time for the party, which is attempting to navigate myriad issues in getting the whole of the agenda implemented. Monday’s potential vote, which Pelosi agreed to in order to bring key centrists on board last month and kick off the reconciliation process, remains up in the air. Jayapal, the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told CNN that there is “no reason” to hold the vote. She also dismissed it as an “arbitrary deadline.” “Progressives will vote for both bills because we proudly support the President’s entire Build Back Better package, but that a majority of our 96-member caucus will only vote for the small infrastructure bill after the Build Back Better Act passes,” Jayapal said in a statement after the meeting with Biden, which also lasted more than an hour and a half. Eleven Senate Democrats echoed that sentiment in a letter to Biden on Wednesday. And therein lies the rub for progressives. House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said on Wednesday that there is “virtually no chance” the reconciliation bill will be finished before the end of the month, with Biden reportedly giving no indication that the Monday vote will be bumped (The Hill). All of this sets up contentious days ahead for the party. “We still have work to do,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “We’ve got a hectic few days ahead.” The Hill: Biden confronts sinking poll numbers. > Where’s the ceiling?: In a sign that Congress just can’t help itself, lawmakers are moving swiftly down a dual track that could lead to a government shutdown and a default on the national debt without any backup plan in the coming weeks. As The Hill’s Jordain Carney writes, Senate Republicans are expected to block a stop-gap government spending bill next week, with leaders in both parties indicating that they have no plan B and that negotiations between the two sides are nonexistent. At present, the government is set to shut down at midnight on Sept. 31, with a debt default potentially coming in mid-October without action. The lack of a deal could also have unintended consequences, as it would threaten to derail the fragile recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and plunge the U.S. back into economic hardship, according to The Hill’s Sylvan Lane. If a shutdown and debt default take place, economists fear the U.S. could suffer a devastating setback in its grueling recovery from the pandemic. “We always do this f---ing dance,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). “I don’t know if people are going to put their sane minds on and do what needs to be done, or shut it down. This is just a ridiculous exercise ... I can’t even compare it to anything I do on the farm that’s this stupid” (Politico). The Washington Post: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and two of her predecessors who served Republican presidents, Steven Mnuchin and Hank Paulson, held private discussions this month with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about the debt ceiling in an effort to avert U.S. default. Bloomberg News: Yarmuth: Democrats probably lack time to raise debt ceiling via reconciliation. Aaron Blake, The Washington Post: Republicans usually lose shutdown fights. So why are they going there again? > Police reform dead: A bipartisan group of lawmakers spearheading police reform negotiations revealed on Wednesday that talks are officially over amid deep divisions that they weren't able to overcome. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said that discussions between him, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) (pictured below) ended without a deal to reform police tactics and put new accountability measures in place. “After months of exhausting every possible pathway to a bipartisan deal, it remains out of reach right now,” Booker said in a statement (The Hill). The Hill: Biden says he will review executive actions after police reform talks fail. © Getty Images Syracuse.com: Former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), 84, died on Monday. He served in the House for 24 years, retiring at the end of 2006. |
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