The White House confirmed on Tuesday that President Joe Biden plans to meet again with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to discuss a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“The President is looking forward to hosting Senator Capito on Wednesday afternoon at the White House, where they will continue their bipartisan negotiations about investing in our middle class and economic growth through infrastructure,” the White House said in a statement to reporters.
The statement indicates that Biden remains interested in a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, despite big hurdles on both sides.
Last week, Senate Republicans offered a $1 trillion counterproposal to the White House, repurposing billions of dollars of funding from the coronavirus rescue package to help pay for the plan.
Biden said Friday he had a “good conversation” with Capito and previewed an upcoming meeting with her, but also signaled that the clock is ticking on a potential deal.
“I told her we have to finish this really soon,” Biden said Thursday. “And there’s another Republican group that also wants it … but we’re going to have to close this down soon.”
Biden will continue to discuss the infrastructure plan next week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Friday.
Biden needs Senate Republicans on board to pass a major infrastructure package, but may decide to pursue it alone through budget reconciliation with his small Democrat majority.
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