Biden Cancels Chicago Trip To Negotiate Budget Bill With Democrats

President Joe Biden canceled his trip to Chicago Wednesday to stay in Washington to continue negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on his two key legislative agenda: the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package and the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The bills are at the risk of failing and could lead to a shutdown due to the divides in Congress.

“In meetings and calls over the weekend and through today, President Biden has been engaging with members of Congress on the path forward for the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,” the White House said in a statement. “He will now remain at the White House tomorrow to continue working on advancing these two pieces of legislation to create jobs, grow the economy and make investments in families, rather than failed giveaways to the rich and big corporations.”

The president had previously spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) earlier this week. The Biden administration said the three Democrats “agreed on the need to continue work on advancing the two pieces of legislation that represent the president’s vision.”

Meanwhile, the House is set to vote Thursday on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that the Senate passed in August. The vote, originally scheduled Monday, was pushed back to negotiate with the centrist Democrats who threatened to not vote for Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better plan.

Last week, the House passed a bill that would prevent a government shutdown and suspend the debt cap for another year, though it was later rejected in the Senate. The lawmakers must pass the bill by the end of this month to prevent a shutdown.

The spending bill, the $3.5 trillion plan that includes the core of Biden’s agenda, would make massive investments in the social and climate policy. Republicans want the debt limit added to the sweeping bill, which Democrats plan to pay for through raising taxes on corporations and the rich.