President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday that Democrats could use the "nuclear option" to prevent Republicans from filibustering their plan to raise the debt ceiling.
"Oh, I think that’s a real possibility," Biden told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn about the possibility of a "nuclear option" to prevent Republicans from filibustering the vote to raise the debt ceiling.
Biden’s comment comes as some Democrats have floated the idea.
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President Joe Biden defended his "Build Back Better" spending plan in a Tuesday speech, insisting once again that he is a "capitalist" at heart and that his bill currently tied up in Congress is fully paid for.
"I'm a capitalist," Biden told a crowd at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 training facility in Howell, Michigan. "I think you should be able to go out and make a million or a billion, but just pay your fair share."
Biden has referred to himself as a capitalist multiple times in recent weeks as he attempts to push back against critics who have likened his multitrillion-dollar spending plan to a socialist agenda.
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Fox News' Peter Doocy reports that President Biden will stress the United States' competition with China as a key reason why Congress should pass both the infrastructure bill and Democrats' reconciliation bill during his Michigan speech Tuesday.
Biden will specifically tout the investments in education in the reconciliation bill as he points out that China is investing vast sums in all levels of education. The president will say that these investments as well as other provisions of the bill like paid family leave and more are key to competing with China.
On the infrastructure bill, Biden will highlight union jobs it would create for jobs from fixing roads to building electric vehicle charging stations.
The president will also say the bills will give all Americans a fair shot in the evolving 21st Century economy.
Biden will also claim that the reconciliation bill will not add a penny to the national debt. Spending watchdogs have said that claim is very suspect given the revenue raisers and spending levels in the original legislative text. But it will be impossible to verify until Democrats actually come to a deal on what the final reconciliation bill will look like.
{{#rendered}}Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Tuesday that he does not consider the end of October to be the deadline for Democrats to come to a deal on their budget reconciliation deal, contradicting Democratic leaders who want both reconciliation and the infrastructure bill passed by Halloween.
"There's no deadline from the standpoint to get something done, as I've said before we've got everything covered everyone in any critical situation,' Manchin told reporters, according to Fox News' Jason Donner.
Manchin, who has said his current stance is that reconciliation should cost no more than $1.5 trillion, said he would not rule out agreeing to a bill between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion. That is the current range Democrats are targeting for a compromise between moderates and progressives.
Congress passed an extension on surface transportation funding through the end of October last week when Democrats could not come to a deal on a framework for their reconciliation bill that would allow the bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass. Democratic leaders, therefore, are citing the end of the month as the new deadline for passing President Biden's agenda because surface transportation funding is included in the infrastructure deal.
But Congress could also pass yet another extension on surface transportation funding, giving Democrats yet more time to come to a deal on their two massive pieces of legislation.
President Biden met with House progressives on Monday, as the president aims to unite the disparate wings of his party around his two biggest agenda items.
"I want to thank President Biden for his leadership and for continuing to fight for his visionary Build Back Better Act that people throughout this country want, need, and deserve. We had a very productive and necessary conversation about the urgent need to deliver the full Build Back Better agenda — not only investing in roads and bridges, but also in child care, paid leave, health care, climate action, affordable housing, and education," Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said.
She added: "As the President has continually emphasized, as recently as this afternoon, both the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act are necessary to make good on his promises to the American people."
The White House's readout of the meeting focused on highlighting the provisions in the reconciliation bill.
"The group discussed their shared commitment to seizing this moment to make investing in families the heart of our economic growth and competitiveness strategy, paid for by repealing failed tax giveaways for the rich and big corporations that have been holding us back from reaching our full potential in the global economy," the statement also said.
According to the White House, the members in attendance with Jayapal were Reps. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Joe Neguse, D-Colo., Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Richie Torres, D-N.Y., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Peter Welch D-Vt.
Notably absent was Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who holds a leadership position in the progressive caucus as the whip.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce late Monday issued a statement to clarify its support of the infrastructure bill and its hope to “defeat the reconciliation bill.”
The statement said it sought to clarify the Chamber's position after an earlier Axios article that said the organization “is withdrawing its support” of the infrastructure bill, citing a letter from Neil Bradley, the chief policy officer.
The report said the decision was based on President Biden’s move to link the infrastructure bill with the $3.5 reconciliation package.
"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues to support the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill and believes it should pass the House as a stand-alone bill unlinked to the proposed tax and spend reconciliation bill," the statement read. "The Chamber is continuing and expanding its efforts to defeat the reconciliation bill and opposes efforts to link the infrastructure bill to the reconciliation bill."
{{#rendered}}President Joe Biden is traveling to Howell, Michigan, Tuesday where he is expected to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure plan and “Build Back Better” agenda amid infighting among Democrats.
“On Tuesday, October 5, the President will travel to Howell, Michigan to continue rallying public support for his bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better agenda, which will grow our economy by investing in working families, paid for by repealing tax giveaways to the rich,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden will appear with Rep. Elise Slotkin, a moderate Democrat, who has urged him to promote his proposals more aggressively to the public, according to the Associated Press.
“We must communicate to the country the transformative nature of the initiatives in the legislation,” Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers prior to the trip.
There were a lot of theories about what role President Biden may take on late last week for a visit with House Democrats and how he would win them over to his big infrastructure bill and the social spending package.
Moderate Democrats and progressives were at each other’s throats for days over the infrastructure bill and the size of the social spending package.
The President conceded the House lacked the votes to pass the infrastructure bill. Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., conceded her group would have to ask for less than $3.5 trillion on the social spending bill.
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