Putting Manchin, Sanders in a room together may end in 'homicide', jokes Biden
US President Joe Biden
In a phone call, US President Joe Biden joked that putting Senators Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin in a room together to discuss the $2 trillion difference in their visions of the social safety net expansions may end in a "homicide".
Earlier this week, a Democrat from California, Rep Ro Khanna, suggested on the call that the only way to reach a deal on the bill is to put the West Virginia Democrat in a room with Sanders, whose agenda comprises much of the bill, reported CNN.
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But the only issue is that their differences are too big that Biden didn't think they would be able to reach consensus.
Other Democrats also agreed with the idea. Montana Senator Joe Tester said, "Yes," when was asked about whether he is concerned about the duo's disagreements.
"I just think it's a matter of getting them in the same room," Tester said.
The party's frustration with Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is "off the charts" as the two hamper their colleagues' plans, a source said.
Manchin and Sinema are the only two Democratic senators, who are not on board with the proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill as both have said that it is an irresponsibly large sum.
(With inputs from agencies)