As a negotiator, Biden leaves GOP senators unsure how far he will go

The Republicans — some of whom had taken chocolate chip cookies, wrapped in a presidential seal, for the road — left the Oval Office believing that Biden would be satisfied with a framework that would spend $1 trillion over eight years and that it could include existing spending plans. “I have had opportunities and dealings with him over the years, and he’s a straight shooter,” said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), one of the six negotiators representing Senate Republicans with the White House. “If he gives you his commitment, you can count on it.” What precisely Biden agreed to in the Oval Office has become a key factor in the ongoing negotiations between GOP senators and the White House, which it appears will continue beyond Memorial Day despite wide gulfs between the two sides concerning what to spend money on and how to pay for it. Republicans this week began offering up details of the May 13 meeting after White House aides put forward a counteroffer that GOP senators said fell far short of what the president had pledged.