WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – The battle is intensifying over President Biden’s economic agenda. As Democrats struggle to get on the same page one senator is continuing to be confronted after activists pursued her into a bathroom.
It was a tense airport greeting, as Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema returned to Washington flanked by police as progressive activists followed demanding the Democratic moderate support the president’s sweeping spending bill for climate and social programs.
This confrontation comes after activists recorded Sinema Saturday as she headed into a bathroom stall. She called their actions “wholly inappropriate.”
Protesters who kayaked to the House Boat of West Virginia’s Joe Manchin appeared at his office Monday where Manchin agreed to meet.
The president was asked if the protest against the two senators crossed a line. “I don’t think they’re appropriate tactics,” he said, “but it happens to everybody.”
Under pressure to bring his own party together, Biden stated, “I was able to close the deal with 99% of my party… two. ”
The President is short the votes of Manchin and Sinema while he is also urging a larger group of progressives to lower their expectations and agree to a spending package much smaller than the current $3.5 trillion price tag.
Democrats face another looming economic crisis. Within days, Congress must raise the debt limit which permits the government to borrow money. But Republicans refuse to approve the increase, arguing that Democrats cut them out of spending decisions.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.