WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden will meet separately with moderate Democratic U.S. senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday to discuss Democratic-backed domestic spending legislation, sources familiar with the meetings said.
The Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, making Manchin and Sinema critical to the legislation’s prospects.
Sinema, who represents Arizona, will be at the White House on Wednesday morning and Manchin, of West Virginia, will discuss the wide-ranging spending and tax bill on Wednesday evening, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The legislation – opposed by Republicans – aims to supplement a separate bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill and would focus on education, child care, climate-related projects and other matters.
The meeting comes after Manchin over the weekend said he would not back a $3.5 trillion package and urged a slimmer version, putting him at odds with other Democrats backing the larger bill to tackle the party’s major policy goals while they maintain a narrow hold on Congress.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham and Doina Chiacu)
