© Getty ImagesPsaki denies break between Biden and advisers on relief negotiations
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday called talk that there is a split between President Biden and his top advisers on bipartisan economic relief negotiations "ludicrous."
"I've seen some of those reports. Many of them are ludicrous. I've sat in a lot of meetings with the president of the United States in the last few weeks and even before then," Psaki said at a press briefing. "There is no one who is going to tell him what to do or hold him back from his commitment to deliver relief to the American people."
Psaki's comments came after Republican senators said they felt Biden was willing to negotiate with GOP lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement on an economic relief package, but that his aides were more inclined to push ahead without GOP support.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who was among the 10 Republicans who met with Biden at the White House earlier this week, told Punchbowl News he felt "the president would be more forward-leaning working with both sides, but there are pressures up here on the Hill."
"It's hard to read his staff, but they didn't seem all that interested in finding common ground," he added.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who also attended the White House meeting earlier this week, said Biden "seemed more willing than his staff to negotiate."
Biden met with the Republicans at the White House on Monday to discuss their $600 billion relief proposal, which is less than half of Biden's $1.9 trillion package. The two sides said there was no agreement on a path forward, but that they agreed to keep talking.
Biden told House Democrats on a call earlier Wednesday that he wanted Congress to go big with its relief legislation but that he was open to more narrowly targeting who is eligible for $1,400 direct payments.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said following a meeting with Biden and other Democratic senators on Wednesday that the party was united in pressing forward with relief.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 50-49 to proceed to a budget resolution that greenlights passing a separate coronavirus relief bill through reconciliation. The reconciliation process would require a simple majority to pass a bill, avoiding a 60-vote legislative filibuster.