President Joe Biden hosted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) at his Delaware home on Sunday in an effort to finalize an agreement on a sweeping economic package and a social spending package, a White House official told FWRD AXIS News.
Biden met with the two men over breakfast as he tries to hammer out a deal on two key pieces of legislation before he departs the country for two weeks on Thursday. The President met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Schumer on Friday as negotiations continued.
News of the Sunday morning meeting was first reported by Politico.
Pelosi spoke on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday and said a deal is ‘close’ and Manchin, Schumer, and Biden were meeting to discuss the particulars on the framework of a deal.
“I think we’re pretty much there now,” Pelosi said. “The plan is to hold a vote this week.”
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the lingering issues in the talks and to move forward where Joe Manchin remains a hold-out, including Medicare expansion and paid leave.
The White House released a statement late Sunday afternoon, confirming the meeting and called the discussion “productive”.
This morning, the President hosted Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin for breakfast at his home in Wilmington for what was a productive discussion about the Build Back Better Agenda, including equipping Americans to get back to work and making our economy deliver for the middle class — not just those at the top,” the statement read. “They continued to make progress, will have their staffs work on follow-ups from the meeting, and agreed to stay in close touch with each other and the wide range of members who have worked hard on these negotiations.”
Biden is pressing Democrats to come to an agreement before he departs the country on Thursday and has been vocal about bringing the months-long negotiations to an end. Biden’s invite was rare for him because, unlike former President Donald Trump, he has not invited lawmakers to his home prior to Sunday.
Joe Manchin’s concerns have not been reconciled. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has pushed for an expansion of Medicare for hearing, vision, and dental coverage, which Manchin opposes.
The meeting on Sunday comes after Biden’s town hall on Thursday in Baltimore, where he discussed details on how the spending package is coming together and the exact areas where Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) remain holdouts.
Biden confirmed at the event that 12 weeks of paid family leave is now getting reduced to just four weeks and he does not support a working requirement for families to receive a child tax credit.
“It’s all about compromise,” Biden said on CNN. “I think we can get there.”
The meeting came as first lady Jill Biden departed Wilmington for Michigan for the policy-focused trip.
Story updated to include a statement from the White House.
