Biden's chief of staff maintains White House is serious about working with GOP on infrastructure


White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Sunday said "we have to see whether ... Republicans in Washington join the rest of America in broadly supporting" President Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal.
But while he appeared to put the pressure on GOP senators to cross the aisle, he also told CBS News' John Dickerson that Biden had a "great conversation" with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) this week, adding that "we've invited her and a group of Republican senators to the White House in the next few days, hopefully." Klain was adamant that the administration intends to work with Republicans and "find common ground."
The sides were not able to meet in the middle on Biden's COVID-19 relief plan, so maybe Klain's words won't come to fruition, but The Washington Post has reported that the White House does indeed seem open to concessions when it comes to the infrastructure plan, which could also be broken into bits and pieces.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When Biden spoke with Capito he reportedly "suggested he was contemplating her counteroffer of roughly $568 billion more seriously than he viewed the Republican response to his coronavirus relief legislation," the Post writes, especially since there's no pandemic-related shot clock this time. "We have a little more time for the consideration of this, and the percolation of these proposals, to have a broader consolation and dialogue," Steve Ricchetti, a top White House aide, told the Post. Read more at The Washington Post and CBS News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in Fiji
Under the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’
Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies