“I don’t know why you need reconciliation,” the West Virginia Democrat told reporters on Tuesday, expressing confidence that a bipartisan deal was within reach. He also seemed to acknowledge the leverage he holds over the process, daring Democrats to proceed without his support. “If you think you got it, then go for it,” he said, referring to the budget process that would allow Democrats to circumvent a GOP filibuster. Senate Republicans are preparing to make a counteroffer to Biden on infrastructure spending, nearing $1 trillion this week, giving new air to talks that seemed on the verge of collapse last week. But that would still fall far short of the White House’s revised ask of $1.7 trillion for the infrastructure and jobs package. And the GOP proposal includes just a fraction of new direct infrastructure spending; much of it includes funds Congress already appropriated for other purposes.