Biden will take reporters’ questions abroad as his agenda stalls at home

Enlarge this image

President Biden concludes his remarks at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit on Monday in Glasgow, Scotland. Biden is holding a news conference from the summit on Tuesday.

Evan Vucci/Pool via AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Evan Vucci/Pool via AP

Biden addressed delegates at the COP26 gathering on Monday, asserting the U.S. was «back at the table,» and his administration was on the verge of making «the most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis that any advanced nation has made, ever.»

Biden is hoping congressional Democrats will approve his traditional and social infrastructure measures, which together would spend more than $900 billion on climate change, through a variety of grants, tax credits and other programs.

The COP26 summit
Biden proposes new rules to cut climate-warming methane emissions

The COP26 summit
These 4 charts explain why the stakes are so high at the U.N. climate summit

The physical infrastructure bill has already been approved by the Senate and is awaiting action by the House, where Democratic leaders hope to approve both measures in tandem.

But it’s far from clear what the timetable will be, given the continuing refusal of Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to commit to the social spending package. Their support is crucial for the measures’ passage in the evenly divided Senate.

Manchin said Monday that he will not support the proposed framework for the bill «without thoroughly understanding the impact it will have» on the nation’s debt. The White House responded that it was still confident Manchin would ultimately support the legislation.