The White House is rushing to fulfill plans to pass a $1.75 trillion bill initiated by US President Joe Biden, dubbed Build Back Better, by the end of this year amid concerns from some Democrats about excessive spending and persistently high inflation.

Biden on Monday spoke with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who often obstructs the president’s domestic policy initiatives.

“The president and Senator Manchin had a good constructive phone conversation and agreed to stay in touch in the coming days,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates, as quoted by the Financial Times.

For his part, Manchin, when asked by reporters whether lawmakers could approve the bill in time for Catholic Christmas, said: “Anything is possible.” Biden’s conversation with the senator is another attempt to gain support for the U.S. president’s major economic initiative, which calls for massive government investment in social safety net programs and measures to combat climate change. However, the fate of the bill, which is supposed to be implemented mainly by raising taxes on the wealthiest segments of the population and large companies, is still in doubt, as less than two weeks remain before the deadline set by the Democrats themselves – before Christmas, writes FT.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer initially favored the Senate to begin consideration of the bill this week after it was approved by the House of Representatives in November. Meanwhile, many in Washington doubt the bill will get to Biden for his signature before the end of the year, given Manchin’s displeasure.

Democrats want to pass the bill without Republican support, using a procedure that would allow them to bypass the necessary 60-vote threshold. However, given that the Democrats’ advantage over Republicans is extremely slim, they need the support of all 50 senators from their party. Not a single Republican senator has signaled that he intends to support the bill, writes the FT.