Biden CANCELS trip to Chicago to promote COVID vaccination as Democratic senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin continue to hold out on his $3.5T budget - leaving party in chaos
Joe Biden is indefinitely postponing his Wednesday trip to Chicago meant to highlight the importance of COVID-19 vaccines and will instead remain in Washington, D.C. to lead negotiations on the infrastructure and reconciliation packages.
The White House sent out an update on Tuesday night announcing the change of plans, and according to several reports Biden nixed the trip because he feels 'progress is being made' on the two pieces of legislation and wants to stay near to 'continue his engagement.'
Shortly after midnight Wednesday, an anonymous official told the Associated Press that there was a 'strong sense' of progress being made, with Democrat Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema's aloofness to the Biden proposal previously deemed the biggest threat to its passage.
After leaving a meeting with Biden Tuesday, Manchin praised the 'really good, honest, straightforward negotiations' they'd had.
In meetings and calls over the weekend and through today, President Biden has been engaging with members of Congress on the path forward for the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,' a statement from the White House reads.
'He will now remain at the White House tomorrow to continue working on advancing these two pieces of legislation to create jobs, grow the economy, and make investments in families, rather than failed giveaways to the rich and big corporations,' it added.
'There will be more to come on his engagement over the next couple of days, and the trip to Chicago to discuss the ongoing importance of getting people vaccinated will be rescheduled.'
Biden was supposed to go to Chicago on Wednesday in order to promote the new federal-level mandate that businesses with more than 100 employees require vaccination proof from their workers.
The rules, detailed by President Biden earlier this month, would require the jab for workers or else they're subject to at least weekly testing for coronavirus.
The trip won't be happening on Wednesday, however, as Democrats grapple with trying to force through reconciliation on the $3.5 trillion budget resolution as a caveat for the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal.
Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are holding up the prospect of the budget passing. The two met with Biden at the White House on Tuesday in an attempt for the president to get them to move the needle. Neither has indicated what topline figure they'd be happy with.
With a 50-50 split Senate, Democrats need every vote to get their ambitious and pricey budget passed with Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator for California, casting the tie-breaking vote.
Moderate Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin met with Biden at the White House on Tuesday to discuss their concerns over the budget reconciliation package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also postponed a vote on the infrastructure package until Thursday as Democrats work to shore up support among moderates – mainly Manchin and Sinema – for the $3.5 trillion budget resolution riddled with social programs opposed by Republicans.
In a massive blow to the progressive faction of her party, Pelosi also announced on Tuesday that she would not tie passing the $3.5 trillion bill to passing the infrastructure package.
Manchin and Sinema have not yet publicly put a price on a budget bill they will support, but Democrats are hoping Biden can get a verbal commitment from the two senators by Thursday – thus freeing up progressives to vote for his infrastructure bill after they vowed to make that passage reliant on the budget reconciliation.
Pelosi put the onus on the president.
'Negotiations are being led by President Biden to advance his vision,' she told her Democratic lawmakers in a letter on Tuesday.
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