In Capitol visit, Biden tries to make peace with feuding Democrats
The former senator told his caucus during a 40-minute meeting that they could delay a vote on the smaller bill and sharply scale back the larger one to around $2 trillion
In a rare visit to the US Capitol, President Joe Biden tried on Friday to end a fight between the moderate and progressive wings of his Democratic Party that threatened to torpedo his domestic agenda.
Faced with a moderate faction that wanted an immediate vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a progressive arm that wanted to wait until there was agreement on a sweeping $3.5 trillion bill to bolster social spending and fight climate change, Biden sought to split the difference.
The former senator told his caucus during a 40-minute meeting that they could delay a vote on the smaller bill and sharply scale back the larger one to around $2 trillion. But his message that there was no rush belied the fact that Congress faces multiple approaching critical deadlines.
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"It doesn't matter whether it's in six minutes, six days or in six weeks. We're going to get it done," Biden said.
A source familiar with Biden's remarks at the meeting said he told lawmakers, "Even a smaller bill can make historic investments."
