President Joe Biden ramped up his push to move his legislative agenda forward in private meetings Monday with two key Democratic lawmakers.
Biden spoke with the Democrats — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin — in separate meetings, according to a White House official.
The two lawmakers represent a crucial players in Biden’s efforts to move his $4 trillion economic agenda. Both have insisted Democrats pursue a bipartisan track on infrastructure talks and are part of a group of 21 Republicans and Democrats currently in talks with Biden over a plan that includes $579 billion in new spending. Sinema spoke with the bipartisan group after talking with Biden.
White House officials have made clear they’re encouraged by the direction of the infrastructure talks thus far, but major differences remain over how to finance the proposal. Biden has rejected indexing the gas tax to inflation and applying user fees to electric vehicles — two options considered by the group.
