Schumer says Senate is 'moving full speed ahead' on reconciliation bill, despite Manchin's call for 'strategic pause'

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday effectively rejected Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) call for a "strategic pause" in Democrats' reconciliation process when he told reporters the Senate is "moving full speed ahead" on the bill with the goal of finishing this month.

"We're moving forward on this bill," he added.

Manchin and his budget hawk counterpart Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have long signaled their concerns surrounding a reconciliation package as large as $3.5 trillion, but Democrats will need their votes to pass the legislation.

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Schumer on Wednesday acknowledged such spending disagreements within the party, but noted that "we are going to work very hard to get unity" and build a "joint proposal" that satisfies the House, the Senate, and the White House.

But rest assured, as he's clarified before, "every part of the Biden plan" will be accomplished in a "big and robust way." "In reconciliation, we're all going to come together to get something big done," he said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) agreed while also acknowledging the challeges ahead: "What we're trying to do is unprecedented ... this is tough stuff."