GOP senators ready $1T infrastructure counteroffer to Biden

Senate Republicans are preparing a $1 trillion infrastructure counteroffer to present to the White House by Thursday

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans are preparing a $1 trillion infrastructure counteroffer to present to the White House by Thursday, reviving negotiations over President Joe Biden’s sweeping investment plan ahead of a Memorial Day deadline for progress toward a bipartisan deal. Republicans sounded upbeat Tuesday after both sides had panned the latest offers. Biden had dropped his $2.3 trillion opening bid to $1.7 trillion. Republicans had nudged their initial $568 billion offer up by about $50 billion. The Republicans said their new $1 trillion offer, spread over eight years, would be aligned with what they discussed with Biden in their first Oval Office meeting almost two weeks ago. At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki struck a similar note of optimism: "We expect this week to be a week of progress.”