US Democrats seek deal on Biden’s $3.5-trillion social agenda
Al Jazeera
Democrats are struggling to bridge differences between two key centrist senators and a faction of House progressives.
White House officials and Democrats in the United States Congress are negotiating terms of a framework deal on President Joe Biden’s ambitious social and climate proposals as they seek to overcome a stalemate within their own party.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed a planned vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill late on Thursday as the party struggled to bridge differences between two key centrist Democratic senators and a faction of progressive House members.
The two sides appeared far apart, with the key difference being between Biden’s proposed $3.5-trillion investment over 10 years in social and clean energy programmes, and a $1.5-trillion option supported by Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia.