Biden seeks to restart stalled agenda with crucial meetings with Democratic lawmakers

President Biden is meeting nine House progressive Democrats and eight moderates from both the House and the Senate Tuesday as he seeks to nudge members closer to an agreement on Democrats' plan to spend trillions on social and environmental programs.

The president's first meeting will be with progressive members, most notably House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. She's pushed for the spending bill, which Democrats are pushing through via budget reconciliation to avoid the Senate filibuster, to include as much money in as many programs as possible.

Jayapal will be joined by Reps. Ricthie Torres, D-N.Y., Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Jimmy Gonzalez, D-Calif.

The group of moderates meeting with Biden at 4:30 will be headlined by Problem Solvers Caucus Chairman Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. 

BIDEN TO MEET WITH HOUSE MODERATS AND PROGRESSIVES TUESDAY AS DEMS STRUGGLE TO REACH RECONCILIATION DEAL

He led the charge last month of Democrats who wanted the House to vote on the infrastructure bill before reaching an agreement on the reconciliation bill. But Jayapal and her caucus successfully held the infrastructure bill hostage in what was an embarrassing loss for the New Jersey moderate. 

Joining Gottheimer at the White House will be Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz., Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif. Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Mark Warner, D-Va., will also be present. 

These are far from the only meetings Biden is taking this week as he seeks to help congressional Democrats break their stalemate on his legislative agenda. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the president met one-on-one with Jayapal Monday and said he is speaking with numerous members on the phone. 

The Arizona Republic also reported that Biden is meeting with moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Tuesday morning. 

"We are encouraged by the accelerated pace of talks and are eager to get this done," Psaki said Monday. 

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Nevertheless, Democrats remain far apart on many key items, as underscored by the progressive reaction to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., pushing for means testing of the child tax credit. 

He's emphasized that he is willing to support a bill at $1.5 trillion, which is significantly lower than the $3.5 trillion number many progressives are still pushing for. More mainstream Democrats appear to be coalescing around a number closer to $2 trillion, but everything about the reconciliation bill is in flux amid the negotiations. 

Democrats have a self-imposed deadline of Oct. 31 approaching to pass or at the very least come to an agreement on reconciliation so that progressives will lift their blockade of the infrastructure bill before funding for surface transportation programs runs out. 

But most observers doubt even an agreement on a framework will be hard to come by for Democrats by the end of the month. So Democrats will likely pass another temporary reauthorization of those programs to extend their deadline into November and potentially into December. 

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That's where they could run into some serious problems, however, with an expiration of government funding on Dec. 3 and a debt default – that Republicans say they'll refuse to help Democrats avoid – coming shortly thereafter. Those two possible crises could consume Congress in December and force Democrats to try to pass their agenda in the 2022 election year, when it's possible the window for any deal-making could be closed.