Biden tries to budge Manchin
By Alexander Bolton and Morgan Chalfant - 12/13/21 06:05 PM EST
President Biden spoke to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for the second time in a week on Monday in what is becoming an increasingly desperate late-minute effort to cajole him into voting for a sweeping climate and social spending bill before Christmas.
Manchin told reporters after the call he and Biden had “a nice conversation” and that he is “engaged” with the president.
He said he and Biden “were just talking” about “different iterations” of the legislation.
Asked if the $2 trillion bill could pass by Christmas, Manchin replied, “Anything is possible.”
He declined to say how long the call lasted or what he and the president discussed specifically, and his office released a statement describing the conversation as “productive.”
“They will continue to talk over the coming days,” it said.
Manchin is seen as the key to not only getting the bill through the Senate before Christmas, but to getting the major piece of Biden’s agenda done at all.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/585633-biden-tries-to-budge-manchin
