1/ The Senate is expected to vote Thursday on a short-term spending bill to avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Democrats and Republicans, however, disagree on language in the House-passed measure regarding Afghan refugee benefits and funding for Israel’s Iron Dome. Congress must pass a funding bill before midnight Thursday to avoid a shutdown. The short-term government funding bill does not address raising the debt ceiling to prevent a first-ever default. (Politico / CNBC / Washington Post / CBS News)

2/ The House passed a standalone bill to lift the debt ceiling, which Senate Republicans are expected to reject. On Monday, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have funded the government into Dec., and suspended the debt ceiling until Dec. 2022. A group of moderate House Democrats, meanwhile, threatened to oppose the standalone measure, saying it was a pointless political maneuver with Senate Republicans firmly opposed. “We have a responsibility to uphold, to lift up, the full faith and credit of the United States of America — that’s what we have to do,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters. She noted that lawmakers had already voted to raise the debt limit last week, when the House passed the spending bill, adding: “If they’re concerned about how it might be in an ad, it’s already in an ad.” (CNBC / Politico / New York Times)

3/ Biden canceled a trip to Chicago to promote Covid-19 vaccinations in order to try and broker a compromise with two moderate Democratic senators threatening to sink his economic agenda. In a series of private meetings at the White House, Biden met with Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin in an attempt to salvage the two infrastructure bills. So far, Sinema or Manchin are unwilling to agree to the topline cost of the proposed $3.5 trillion education, climate, healthcare, and tax plan until the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package first passes the House. Manchin released a statement that suggests an agreement on the budget reconciliation package wasn’t close, saying: “I cannot – and will not – support trillions in spending or an all or nothing approach that ignores the brutal fiscal reality our nation faces.” The planned vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure package, however, was already moved from Monday to Thursday after it became clear that there was no House-Senate agreement on the $3.5 trillion bill, which House progressives are demanding that the Senate pass before they’ll support the infrastructure proposal. White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the meetings as “constructive” and that they “agreed that we are at a pivotal moment [and] need to continue to work to finalize the path forward.” Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, held out the possibility that the House could delay Thursday’s vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, accusing moderate Senate Democrats of “completely” disrupting the timeline for approving Biden’s economic agenda. She added: “We take it one step at a time.” (Politico / New York Times /