Republicans optimistic they can strike a deal on infrastructure

Republican lawmakers left a meeting with Biden Thursday optimistic that an agreement can be reached on infrastructure, but they must act quickly to meet his deadline.

Republican lawmakers left a meeting with President Joe Biden Thursday optimistic that an agreement can be reached on an infrastructure package, but lawmakers must act quickly if they hope to strike a deal before the president's fast-approaching deadline. While Biden has long projected a desire to work across the aisle on an infrastructure plan, he's also been clear that Democrats will forge ahead without Republicans if bipartisan talks don't yield swift results. The White House wants to see "significant progress" on an infrastructure deal by Memorial Day and Biden is aiming for final passage by the end of the summer. Republicans leaving the White House Thursday indicated that agreement was possible. Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who is leading the Republican infrastructure effort, painted Biden as an "honest broker" and said that during Thursday's meeting, the parties laid out next steps for trying to bridge the substantive divide between their two infrastructure plans.