Biden to go one-on-one with Manchin

President Biden is having a one-on-one meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Monday to discuss his infrastructure proposal, the White House said, a discussion that is likely to cover disagreements over the corporate tax rate.

Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent to pay for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal, a hike that Manchin has said is too high. Manchin has indicated he would support increasing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.

Manchin has also expressed general concerns about the price tag of Biden’s agenda, which also includes a $1.8 trillion plan to expand prekindergarten and community college and offer tax credits to low- and middle-income families.

Manchin’s support is key to any bill that Democrats try to pass using the budget reconciliation process, where they need every Democrat in the Senate to vote in favor of a piece of legislation in order for it to pass.

Biden said last week that he was open to compromise on his plans to raise the corporate tax rate but said he would not back a bill that is not paid for due to concerns about the deficit.

“I’m willing to compromise but I’m not willing to not pay for what we’re talking about,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m not willing to deficit spend. They already have us $2 trillion in the whole.”

Biden is also trying to negotiate with Republicans on a potential compromise on infrastructure, and those efforts face a critical test this week.

The White House said that Biden is also holding a one-on-one meeting on Monday with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as he looks to advance an infrastructure bill.

“These are just examples of two senators, additional members he’ll be meeting with to discuss the American jobs plan, discuss the path forward,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told The Hill on Monday when asked at a briefing about the meetings. “It’s just a part of his ongoing outreach.”

Carper has previously been at the Biden White House with fellow Delaware Sen. Chris Coons (D), but Monday’s visit will be Manchin’s first time meeting with Biden since he became president. 

Biden is kicking off a week of meetings on his infrastructure proposal as he faces a time crunch to advance it in some form. The White House has said Biden wants to see “progress” by Memorial Day and passage by summer, meaning the coming weeks are critical to finding a path forward.

“The president would still like to see progress by Memorial Day and would like to sign the bills into law this summer. That hasn’t changed,” Psaki said Monday.

Biden will meet with bipartisan House and Senate leaders on Wednesday and then huddle with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) and other Republicans on Thursday about a smaller $568 billion infrastructure counterproposal they have introduced that covers only traditional forms of physical infrastructure like roads and bridges.

–Brett Samuels contributed to this report, which was updated at 2:52 p.m.