Loss looming, Nancy cancels infrastrux vote
Facing an embarrassing defeat at the hands of progressives in her party, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was forced to cancel a vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill late Thursday night — failing to garner the support needed for passage after far-left Democrats vowed to block it until there is movement on a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill.
The feud threatens two of President Biden’s top legislative priorities and has so far confounded party leaders, senior congressional staffers and White House aides who have sought a solution.
Pelosi had insisted all week that the infrastructure legislation — which has already cleared the Senate — would come up for a House vote Thursday. She had initially promised moderate members of her conference that it would be voted on by Sept. 27, but allowed the deadline to slide as she sought to placate progressives who wanted to vote on the larger bill first.
“Discussions continue with the House, Senate and White House to reach a bicameral framework agreement to Build Back Better through a [$3.5 trillion] reconciliation bill,” Pelosi wrote Thursday night in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure bill has already had its rule passed and its debate has concluded. All of this momentum brings us closer to shaping the reconciliation bill in a manner that will pass the House and Senate.”
Moderate Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), tweeted late Thursday that hopes for an agreement “ain’t over yet!”
“This is just one long legislative day — we literally aren’t adjourning,” he wrote. “Negotiations are still ongoing, and we’re continuing to work. As I said earlier: grabbing some Gatorade and Red Bull.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that the two sides were “closer to an agreement than ever. But we are not there yet, and so we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.”
Left-wing lawmakers have repeatedly asserted that they had more than enough votes to tank the infrastructure bill. Democrats hold a majority of eight seats in the House, meaning that only three of Pelosi’s members can vote against a measure before it is defeated, assuming all Republicans hold firm.