Biden to meet with Sinema, Manchin on Wednesday on $3.5T spending plan

President Biden will meet separately Wednesday with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to hear their concerns about Democrats’ plans to pass a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, according to sources familiar with the plans.

The meetings will take place at the White House and show that Biden is becoming more personally involved after taking a relatively hands-off approach to the debate over the Democratic reconciliation package.

Sinema will meet with the president Wednesday morning, while Manchin will sit down with him later in the day.

Both moderate Democrats have balked at Democratic leaders’ top-line spending target of $3.5 trillion, which would be paid for in part by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals earning more than $400,000 annually. 

Some Democratic strategists have called for Biden to get more involved in the budget fight, especially given there are only a few weeks left until a soft deadline for getting the bill passed by the end of September.