With clock ticking, Biden meets with progressives and moderates to secure his agenda

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President Biden, seen here at the White House on October 15, is meeting with House and Senate Democrats this week to discuss his multi-trillion dollar reconciliation proposal.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Biden, seen here at the White House on October 15, is meeting with House and Senate Democrats this week to discuss his multi-trillion dollar reconciliation proposal.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

With Democrats still at odds over the size and scope of a sweeping social spending package, President Biden will attempt to help bridge the divide in a pair of meetings with moderate and progressive factions of the party.

The Tuesday afternoon meetings come less than two weeks ahead of a self-imposed Oct 31. deadline to pass Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which includes changes to the social safety net and major investments in climate and education.

The original price tag for the plan that Biden refers to as «human infrastructure» was $3.5 trillion. However, centrist Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has said he can only support a package at $1.5 trillion. Another moderate Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, also expressed concerns over the initial plan’s cost, but has not publicly indicated what top number she would support. To pass the legislation, Democrats are using a process called budget reconciliation, which requires the support of all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus, meaning any one defection sinks the entire operation.

To that end, Democrats are trying to negotiate down the size of the original package to something closer to $2 trillion. Manchin and Sinema are both expected to meet privately with the president this week.

«The President is certainly feeling an urgency to move things forward, to get things done,» White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday. «I think you’ve seen that urgency echoed by members on the Hill who agree that time is not unending here. And we are eager to move forward with a unified path to deliver for the American people.»

Biden will meet with nine House progressives Tuesday afternoon, along with Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The group of lawmakers includes: California Reps. Jimmy Gomez, Jared Huffman, Ro Khanna, and Barbara Lee, Washington Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark and New York Rep. Ritchie Torres.

Biden also spoke with Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on Monday. Jayapal has said $1.5 trillion is too small for progressives to support and has made it clear that progressives won’t move forward with a vote on the Senate-passed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without an agreement on the larger social policy package first.

After the meeting with progressives, Biden will also meet with another set of concerned Democrats: a bicameral group of moderates. That group includes: Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, California Reps. Ami Bera and Mike Thompson, Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, and Arizona Rep. Tom O’Halleran.