Joe Biden Ends Infrastructure Talks with Senate GOP Before Leaving for Europe

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 01: U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he walks toward the Marine
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Joe Biden ended infrastructure talks with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, just hours before leaving for his trip to Europe.

The White House released a statement after the president spoke with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on Tuesday afternoon.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said that Capito’s offer on behalf of Senate Republicans did not include enough spending to “meet the essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs.”

On Friday Biden turned down the Republican offer of $928 billion infrastructure spending, and the White House indicated that Biden was disappointed that Republicans failed to increase the amount of spending.

The White House also confirmed that Biden spoke with Senators Kystyn Sinema (D-AZ), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Sen. Bill Cassity (R-LA) about future bipartisan infrastructure discussions.

Biden also delegated negotiations to White House aides Steve Ricchetti, Louisa Terrell, and Brian Deese as he left for his trip to Europe.

Biden also spoke with Senate Majority Leader Schumer, the White House said, to begin the budget resolution process to pursue a massive spending bill with only a simple majority in the Senate.

“The President is committed to moving his economic legislation through Congress this summer and is pursuing multiple paths to get this done,” Psaki concluded.

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