After moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) re-upped his challenge to not vote for Democrats’ $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill, leaders in the party responded coolly, predicting that passage of the Biden agenda is near at hand. The Biden agenda, consisting of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure (BIF) bill and the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation bill, has been stalled for months now due to squabbles within the party. Progressives, since the reconciliation process began, have demanded a bulky, ambitious budget; Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) initially planned to set the nation back $6 trillion. This number was far too high for moderates to support, and the bill was later scaled down to $3.5 trillion. But for Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), $3.5 trillion was still far too much, forcing Democrats to further whittle down the bill to $1.75 trillion. Manchin Demands More Time The White House announced the $1.75 trillion …