US infrastructure deal in doubt after Republican rejection

US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg, centre, receives a tour of an underground tunnel for the expansion of the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport plane train tunnel at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP)

Plans for an ambitious American infrastructure deal have been thrown into serious doubt after Republican senators rejected US president Joe Biden’s reduced proposal of 1.7 trillion dollars (£1.2 trillion).

While talks have not collapsed, Republicans said “vast differences” remain, and the downbeat assessment is certain to stoke fears from Democrats that time is slipping away to strike a deal.