Biden meets with Manchin, Sinema to discuss reconciliation bill

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Biden met separately with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Tuesday, hoping to get their support for a sweeping bill focusing on health care, education, and climate change.

The price tag for the bill may reach $3.5 trillion, and with no Republicans backing it and the Senate evenly split at 50-50, the measure would have to be passed through reconciliation. Manchin and Sinema, both moderates, have said they think the bill is too big, and to get their support, it has to be cut back. Biden was set to travel to Chicago on Wednesday to discuss COVID-19 vaccines, but canceled his trip so he can stay in Washington and help with negotiations.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.