White House officials have yet to decipher Manchin’s demands. Some staff believe that he will never get to yes. Others confess to being out of ideas, even asking policy activists outside the White House for help in getting the West Virginia Democrat on board. The exasperation was compounded this week as the centrist senator indicated he wants to pursue a bipartisan energy bill as well — a detour that few believe will amount to anything but a distraction. And some Hill aides said it could put a larger reconciliation deal on the backburner.

“Folks just feel burned by Manchin,” a top Democratic operative working on the reviving of the bill said of the growing sentiment within parts of the White House. “That they can’t trust him.”

There has been a hesitancy, people familiar with the process said, for the president to directly engage with the Manchin for fear that he could come out looking feckless. Even if the two were to ramp up formal negotiations, there’s no guarantee the senator would agree to a deal.

If the White House does somehow get Manchin on board, its reward will be a date with Sinema, who may prove even harder to please.