White House, Democrats hurriedly reworking $2 trillion Biden plan

WASHINGTON » The White House and Democrats were hurriedly reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan, trimming which social services and climate-change programs to include, and rethinking new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for a scaled-back package.

The changes came as Biden more forcefully appeals to the American public, including in a televised town hall Thursday evening, for what he says are the middleclass values at the heart of his proposal. As long-sought programs are adjusted or eliminated, Democratic leaders are showing great deference to Biden’s preferences to swiftly wrap up talks and reach a deal in the narrowly held Congress.

Even a new White House idea abandoning plans for reversing the Trump-era tax rates in favor of a approach that would involve taxing the investment incomes of billionaires to help finance the deal appeared acceptable to top Democrats. The leadership is racing to finish negotiations, possibly by week’s end.

“We have a goal. We have a timetable. We have milestones, and we’ve met them all,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who predicted on Thursday, “It will pass soon.”

Talks between the White House and Democratic leaders are trying to reduce what had been a $3.5 trillion package to about $2 trillion, in what would be an unprecedented federal effort to expand social services for millions and address climate change.

With stark Republican opposition and no Democratic votes to spare, Biden must keep all lawmakers in his party — centrists and progressives — aligned.