"It has affected the meeting in a fairly significant way," said Gus Silva-Chavez, a policy expert at the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, who has been observing the closed negotiations.
He said such a decision should not be made in "closed corner negotiations".
The pact is still being hammered out in closed-door negotiations.
Following parliamentary elections in November, three parties remained in closed-door negotiations at year's end in an effort to form a coalition government.
But in closed-door negotiations Tuesday, Singapore and Thailand were unable to persuade the other countries to move closer the current 2020 deadline for completely forming a common market.
Democrats again accused the Republicans of demanding that the parties resolve all of their differences in closed-door negotiations before bringing the bill to the Senate floor for amendment -- a process in which the Democratic majority enjoys a decisive advantage.
A bipartisan group in the House has been working in closed-door negotiations on a comprehensive immigration bill, which appears to have many of the same elements as the Senate bill.
The one clear way for McCourt to keep the club would be to reach a settlement, but when the two sides spent Friday in closed-door negotiations, they appeared to be $300 million apart.
Much of the assault on the Clinton rules is occurring under the radar, in obscure courtrooms where industry is challenging them, and in closed-door negotiations that shield the administration from public accountability.
During his presentation in Aspen, Mr. Edelman described the way his group caught the attention of top Democrats by raising millions of dollars and shifting it toward House candidates, in turn gaining him a seat at the table in closed-door negotiations over the education bill.
