Some bridges are harder to build than others. On Friday afternoon, White House staff presented a counteroffer to the Senate Republicans with whom they’re trying to negotiate a major infrastructure package. The latest proposal came in at $1.7 trillion, about $550 billion less than what the administration had originally sought when it introduced its American Jobs Plan. Among the biggest changes, the administration dropped its manufacturing and R&D requests, much of which it’s pursuing separately in legislation that the Senate is debating this week. It also offered to narrow its request for broadband and new transportation projects. Advertisement Despite the movement in their direction, the Republicans responded by coming within a hair of challenging White House chief of staff Ron Klain to a duel for such a dishonorable proposal.