Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders grin for the cameras as Manchin meets with progressives over spending impasse

President Biden is hosting various congressional Democratic factions on Tuesday as the party struggles to find common ground on the second part of Biden's Build Back Better agenda, a sweeping bill to tackle climate change and a host of family and social services. The progressives and a handful of centrists have made their preferences clear, but with negotiations taking place mostly in private, Washington and the political press have been consumed by the 'Dems in Disarray' drama.

"It was almost inevitable that the fight over President Joe Biden's agenda would come down to Bernie Sanders vs. Joe Manchin," Politico writes. "And in an evenly divided Senate," The New York Times adds, "Manchin — one of his party's only holdouts on the bill — might as well be king." As Democratic "negotiators sift through the details of what's in and out of the proposal, it's Manchin's priorities that are driving much of the debate, infuriating colleagues and complicating a deal," The Associated Press reports.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.