i spoke with debbie dingle, she said as most failure is not an option. we're going to find a way to get to a deal. not an option politically, but still a possibility? as you talk to members, do they have a path order? >> reporter: not at the moment. the negotiations need to continue. the democratic leadership has set a new deadline, that being october 31st. the end of the month after they were not able to get a deal on friday to move that infrastructure package. remember these are two separate -- $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, and the larger expansion of the social ♪. t -- social safety net. there's disagreements between progressives and moderates about the size and scope. joe manchin on the moderate aid is wants about $1.5 trillion, and the progressive side, they are pushing for somewhere close to $3 trillion. then never mind the decisions over this policies within them. nevertheless, democratic leaders are pushing to get a deal between those factions within their -- in their caucus in the house and senate. chuck schumer, the senate majority le

here is what debbie dingle, a democrat from michigan, had to say. >> i think a lot of people wish that they had known what's being dealt with, but i think the speaker is really -- there's no better legislator. she thought he was working with an agreement that was $3.5 trillion, but this is a woman who takes the -- what's been handed to her in lemons and makes sure it gets made into the lemonade. >> reporter: the big question mark is surrounding john manuelian, the moderate from west virginia, who said $1.5 trillion was his number and after hours of negotiations with fellow democrats, leadership, as well as white house officials last night in his hideaway, he came out around 10:00 p.m. and told reporters $1.5 trillion is my number. the fact they are discussing potentially $2.1 million, if they can't get manchin, that framework won't work. that is a number included by leadership and the white house but the problem all along is you have to get the moderates on board. right now joe manchin is a holdout. i don't see necessarily that breaking loose in the next couple of hours. >> john harwoo

. >>> i'm going to be speaking to congresswoman debbie dingell about how they plan to break the stalemate as the president is set to visit her state tomorrow to make the case. there she is right there. >>> and later, covid cases finally headed in the right direction in the u.s. this is good news. why does the cdc's new holiday guidance sound like it's from 2020? we'll see. we welcome change? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet. instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create new ways to connect. rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change. faster. vmware. welcome change. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. it's another day. and anything could happen. it could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. or it could be the

. >> what would debbie blunt do? that's what i'm going to ask myself from now on. >> he's telling her story in her own time. i love it. cnn's coverage continues right now. >>> very good thursday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. >> i'm erica hill. it is crunch time for president joe biden's agenda. hours from now he's set to take questions from voters at a cnn town hall hosted by anderson cooper. the president is sure to be pressed on his ambitious yet unfinished agenda. as he works to bridge the divide within his own party and secure a deal on his sweeping economic package. >> right now progressives and moderates still debating that multitrillion dollar spending plan. those negotiations also critical to the fate of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. there does appear to be progress. the president is working closely with moderate senators manchin and sinema. their votes key. both of whom, though, have wildly different sticking points. despite all this, he struck an optimistic tone as he pitched the plan

your colleague debbie dingle was on our air yesterday morning prior to this meeting with the president, and she said she had never seen the sausage making this bad in washington. with so much mistrust out there publicly within the democratic caucus, how much of a focus is repairing that within the party? >> look, it's always been a big tent. i don't know that it was better or worse now than it was ten years ago when we passed health care. it was ugly at times then. so, you know, i think you have to build a day at a time. the fact that the president came to us a second time on this, progressives seemed to be, you know, willing to accept that, gives me hope here. we recognize as time goes on, you know, this is critical to the biden administration. it's critical to what we heard in the last segment on your program, show the rest of the world that we can function. that's extremely important not just for our economy but for our national security and our relationship with the rest of the world. >> to your point, back here at home, right, we know the president had said yesterday it's not hype

here is what debbie dingell said this morning about the landscape on the hill. >> look, it has not been -- i said it would be a week from hell, and it is. i'll tell you something different. i'm seeing people talk to each other, to listen to each other, it hear different perspectives, to legislating, and i think that's actually a good thing. i don't believe we'll leave here until we get this figured out. >> reporter: now, there will be a key moment in just about an hour at 10:30 a.m. eastern time, house democrats are going to be huddling in a caucus meeting, this is a chance for the house democratic leaders to brief their members on the latest progress of the negotiations, also to take the temperature of their members and what progressives think about the new proposal being floated, can they -- are they okay with that potential $2.1 trillion new proposal, so a lot still up in the air. and so much still left to be determined if they can get over the finish line. >> everybody waiting and watching. president biden, we know his agenda is on life support. are we going to see a little bit more