GOP's Portman says Senate infrastructure deal '90 percent' done, held up by mass transit

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 25 July 2021

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on Sunday told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the Senate's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package is "about 90 percent of the way there," pointing to mass transit as the issue that's holding up the negotiations. "And we're not getting much response from the Democrats" on the matter, Portman said.

The Hill reported earlier in the day that a Democratic source close to the talks suggested transit was just one of a few outstanding issues, along with broadband, using unspent COVID-19 relief money, water funding, and highways and bridges. But Portman and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) had previously indicated broadband was mostly settled aside from a few disagreements over language. And on Sunday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Fox News that the deal would include around $70 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds to help pay for the deal, so it's possible the sides have indeed chipped away at those sticking points. Warner, for his part, remains confident the sides will have a deal by Monday.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.