Back in the U.S., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a new target date of October 31 to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, after delaying last week’s vote amid fractures within the Democratic Party. Progressive Democrats have said they will not vote on the $1 trillion bill without a firm commitment to also vote on the larger, 10-year reconciliation package that would expand the social safety net and combat the climate crisis. President Biden met with Democratic lawmakers Friday and reportedly told them that after talks with conservative Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, the proposed topline budget of $3.5 trillion would likely need to be slashed to between $1.9 and $2.3 trillion. But in a boost to progressives, Biden said he supports passing both bills in tandem and believes Democrats can gather the support to do so. He spoke after meeting with lawmakers Friday.

President Joe Biden: “It doesn’t matter when. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in six minutes, six days or six weeks. We’re going to get it done.”