White House digs in as infrastructure talks stall | TheHill

The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by TikTok - Day 1 goes to Dems as GOP fumes at Trump lawyers Meet President Biden's legislative affairs chief MORE met with a smaller group of moderate Republican and Democratic senators in Sen. Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaSchumer vows next steps after 'ridiculous,' 'awful' GOP election bill filibuster White House draws ire of progressives amid voting rights defeat Senate GOP blocks voting rights bill MORE’s (D-Ariz.) office in the Hart Building before reconvening later in the day during votes in Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanWhite House advisers huddle with Senate moderates on infrastructure The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden support, gas tax questions remain on infrastructure This week: Senate set for voting rights fight MORE’s (R-Ohio) Capitol hideaway.While White House officials indicated they like the idea of an infrastructure bank to leverage public funding to raise private investment for infrastructure projects, they see such financing authority as a supplemental strategy for spurring new infrastructure development and not a core strategy for funding a potential $974 billion, five-year bipartisan infrastructure package. Republican senators, however, didn’t seem very optimistic after leaving a nearly two-hour meeting in Portman’s office.Pressed if she thought a deal was imminent, Sen. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiSchumer vows next steps after 'ridiculous,' 'awful' GOP election bill filibuster Murkowski to vote 'no' on voting rights bill White House advisers huddle with Senate moderates on infrastructure MORE (R-Alaska) shrugged her shoulders slightly, while Sen. Bill CassidyBill CassidyPortman: Republicans are 'absolutely' committed to bipartisan infrastructure bill Centrists gain foothold in infrastructure talks; cyber attacks at center of Biden-Putin meeting Centrists gain leverage over progressives in Senate infrastructure battle MORE (R-La.) described the talks with White House officials as “fantastic,” with a dose of sarcasm in his voice.Asked if she was encouraged by Tuesday’s meetings, Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsPelosi quashes reports on Jan. 6 select committee White House advisers huddle with Senate moderates on infrastructure Supreme Court battle could wreak havoc with Biden's 2020 agenda MORE (R-Maine) said, “Well, we’re still working.” A Senate Republican aide said moderates were expecting White House officials to give more ground, since Biden has said for weeks his preference is to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill.