Biden attends Congressional Baseball Game with his legislative agenda on the line

President Biden is attending the Congressional Baseball Game in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, with his legislative legacy at stake as negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill over the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the reconciliation bill, the debt ceiling and government funding continue. 

Mr. Biden has had Democratic members of Congress in and out of the White House in recent days, during one of the most consequential legislative weeks in recent memory as his agenda hangs on the line. The president was scheduled to be in Chicago on Wednesday to push his administration's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, but he stayed in town instead to help hammer out legislative agreements. 

Progressives are threatening to tank the infrastructure bill that passed with bipartisan support in the Senate without the completion of an up to $3.5 trillion social spending bill, while the government will partially shut down without funding after Thursday. Shortly before the baseball game, Senator Joe Manchin issued a statement saying he can't support spending trillions of dollars, and expanding social programs must be based on means testing. The key Democratic senator's statement throws a wrench in the timeline Democratic leadership had for passing both the infrastructure and reconciliation bills.