They're Working All Weekend!
A deal within reach, President Joe Biden and Congress’ top Democrats edged close to sealing their giant domestic legislation, though the informal deadline appeared to slip as they worked to scale back the measure and determine how to pay for it.
Negotiations were expected to continue into the weekend, all sides indicating just a few issues remained unsettled in the sweeping package of social services and climate change strategies.
No agreement was announced by Friday's self-imposed deadline to at least agree on a basic outline. Biden wants a deal before he leaves next week for global summits in Europe.
Biden met at the White House on Friday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined by video call from from New York, trying to shore up details.
. . . Pelosi hoped the House could start voting as soon as next week, but no schedule was set.
President Biden will be in Rome to meet with the pope on Friday, October 29, so I assume he's leaving October 28. If this were a realistic estimate, the leaders should have a package for him by Wednesday. But anyhow, the president is on the case!At the White House, the president has "rolled up his sleeves and is deep in the details of spreadsheets and numbers,” press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Biden was to spend the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Well, that should tell you just how urgent this matter is! The problem is that, as the story I cited yesterday says, the one who actually controls the deal is Sen Manchin. His view is that he's comfortable with no deal, and things ought to wait at least six months. ABC News didn't seem to want to contact him about that. As yesterday's story quoted him,"This is not gonna happen anytime soon, guys," he said Thursday afternoon.
“I don’t see that happening," he also told reporters.
