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President Joe Biden had a good laugh and a snappy quip when a reporter suggested inviting Senators Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders to the White House for a hashing-out session.

The president spoke to reporters briefly after he arrived on the South Lawn Friday evening, and he was repeatedly asked about the state of the negotiations on his Build Back Better agenda.

One reporter asked about the conflict between Sanders and Manchin, and proposed a solution out of an episode of The West Wing. Biden was amused:

Q Mr. President, can Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Joe Manchin ever reconcile their differences on your agenda?THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.)Q Why not get them together and hash it out this weekend?THE PRESIDENT: No problem! I can do that. Not a problem. (Laughs.)Thank you.Q Do you think the talks will come to a conclusion next week?THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m pushing hard to try to get it moving as quickly as I can.Q Is there a deadline?THE PRESIDENT: No. No.

The conflict between Sanders and Manchin over the $3.5 trillion spending plan escalated to an all-out war of words this week when Sanders dropped an op-ed in a West Virginia newspaper, and Manchin responded by telling Sanders to go screw his commie self, in so many words.

“This isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship

to our state,” said Manchin in a statement. “Senator Sanders’ answer is to throw more money on already overheated economy while 52 other Senators have grave concerns about this approach. To be clear, again, Congress should proceed with caution on any additional spending and I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs. No op-ed from a self-declared Independent socialist is going to change that.”

Watch above via C-Span.

Tags: Bernie Sanders, Build Back Better, Joe Biden, Joe Manchin