President Joe Biden on Friday tried to unite Democrats behind his agenda in Congress as party infighting stalled his dramatic spending proposals from advancing.
The president spoke briefly to reporters after traveling to Capitol Hill and meeting with House Democrats for about an hour.
“Doesn’t matter when. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in six minutes, six days, or six weeks,” Biden said after meeting for an hour with House Democrats. “We’re going to get it done.”
Biden’s visit raised the drama behind the scenes as there are few signs of compromise between the moderates and the leftists.
“Permission to come aboard?” Biden asked after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met Biden as he arrived.
“If I had a whistle, I’d whistle you aboard, commander,” Hoyer replied.
President Biden arriving at U.S. Capitol: "Permission to come aboard?"@LeaderHoyer: "If I had a whistle, I'd whistle you aboard, commander." pic.twitter.com/BWNFI5ywOx
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 1, 2021
According to reports, Biden offered to take questions from Democrat members after addressing the meeting, but his staff interrupted.
The president’s comments after the meeting downplayed the deadline set by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move forward on his infrastructure package in the House of Representatives.
Pelosi already failed to meet her Thursday deadline, but she continued to pressure her caucus on Friday to make a vote happen.
Democrat members of Congress remain anxious to leave for the weekend and some, like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), already left Washington, DC, to return home.
Leftists in the Democrat House Progressive Caucus refuse to support the Senate-passed infrastructure bill until the Senate votes to pass a multitrillion social entitlement package.
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema remain strongly opposed to legislation favored by the left, with little room for compromise despite multiple meetings with Biden and his staff.
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