WASHINGTON—President Biden expressed optimism Tuesday that he could find a pathway to an agreement with Sen. Joe Manchin after the West Virginia Democrat rejected Democrats’ roughly $2 trillion education, healthcare and climate proposal.
“Some people think maybe I’m not Irish because I don’t hold a grudge,” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House after laying out additional steps to combat the Covid-19 Omicron variant. “Look, I want to get things done. I think there’s a possibility of getting ‘Build Back Better’ done.”
Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer
readied plans for the Senate to vote on the bill early next year despite Mr. Manchin’s opposition. Mr. Manchin’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr. Biden’s remarks.
Mr. Manchin said Monday that Democrats should start anew on a potential package and criticized White House aides for how they handled the talks. Mr. Manchin’s announcement effectively killed the proposal in its current form, putting in jeopardy much of the president’s legislative agenda and campaign promises.
After Mr. Manchin announced his opposition Sunday in a broadcast interview, the White House issued a blistering statement from press secretary
Jen Psaki
that said the senator’s comments were inconsistent with his recent negotiations and suggested Mr. Manchin had reneged on his commitments.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden sought to tamp down any tensions when asked if the senator had broken his word. “Sen. Manchin and I are going to get something done,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden spoke by phone Sunday with Mr. Manchin after the senator announced he would vote against the legislation in its current form, according to people familiar with the matter.
Democrats have begun developing a narrower package that they hope would meet Mr. Manchin’s demands by selecting a smaller number of programs to fund for the long term. Mr. Manchin said in a radio interview Monday that he supported rolling back elements of the 2017 tax law and empowering the government to negotiate the price of a range of prescription drugs, two efforts that another centrist,
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
(D., Ariz.), has resisted.
Mr. Biden on Tuesday reiterated that the plan wouldn’t increase inflation, one of Mr. Manchin’s concerns. The president pointed to recent projections by
that a failure to pass the proposal would lead to reduced economic growth in 2022.
“All the things in that bill are going to reduce prices and costs for middle-class and working-class people,” Mr. Biden said.
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