Tensions erupt on Capitol Hill as moderate Democrats delay Biden’s budget plan | Democrats

Despite hours of negotiations on Capitol Hill, the House chamber came to a halt and plans were turned upside down as leaders and lawmakers gathered in private to negotiate a deal. Shortly after midnight, leaders announced that no further votes would take place until Tuesday’s session.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pleaded with Democrats not to miss this opportunity to keep the promises Biden and the party made to Americans.

“Right now we have the opportunity to convey something so important to our country, so transformative that we haven’t seen anything like it,” Pelosi said, according to a person who requested anonymity for disclose private comments.

Pelosi told the party he was “unhappy” that they were discussing the process when they should be debating politics.

“We cannot waste this majority and this Democratic White House by not pushing through what we need to do,” she said.

With Republicans totally opposed to the president’s grand plans, Democratic leaders were trying to find a way out of a potentially devastating deadlock between the moderate and progressive wings of the party.

Pelosi’s leadership has sought to persuade lawmakers to conduct a procedural vote to simply kickstart the process and save the political struggle for the months to come, when they develop and debate details as part of the full budget proposal. $ 3.5 billion.

Powerful committee chairs urged their colleagues to move forward.

But it soon became clear that the moderates were not on board and as soon as a meeting broke other private sessions were called, including in Pelosi’s office. At one point, take out was delivered. A night of scheduled votes ended unexpectedly.

Nine moderate Democrats signed a letter late last week expressing objections to pursuing Biden’s infrastructure proposal without first considering the smaller public works plan that has already been passed by the Senate. Other moderates have raised similar concerns in recent days.

“I am stunned by my party’s flawed strategy of making the passage of the already drafted popular bipartisan infrastructure bill conditional on the passage of the controversial partisan reconciliation bill, which ‘has yet to be drafted,’ wrote Stephanie Murphy of Florida, a leader of the centrist Blue Dog caucus, in the Orlando Sentinel.

“This is bad policy and, yes, bad policy.”

In the tightly divided House, every vote counts and a few dissenters could potentially end the hopes of the Democratic majority to pass a proposal. With the bulk of Biden’s national agenda at stake, it’s unimaginable that Pelosi would allow an embarrassing defeat.

This is especially true because the package contains priorities such as childcare, paid family leave and an extension of health insurance which are hard-fought party goals. It also comes as the president is already being criticized for his handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The $ 3.5 billion budget resolution is at the heart of Biden’s “Build Back Better” vision to help families and tackle climate change and is the top priority of progressives, largely funded by tax increases on the rich and the big business.

But moderates insist Congress quickly sends the smaller bipartisan infrastructure measure to Biden so he can sign it before the political winds turn. This would allow them to score a victory that they could point to in their re-election campaigns next year.

“The House cannot afford to wait months or do anything to risk passing” the infrastructure bill, said Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a leader of the nine moderate Mavericks , at the end of last week.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki highlighted Biden’s support for Pelosi’s plans. Psaki felt it was a “healthy debate” within the party and said it was “a high class issue to have” as Democrats debated the details of the legislation.

The progressives were more energetic. Cori Bush of Missouri said the budget “is not a political pawn. This is the opportunity to make our agenda come true… We are not here to play politics with people’s lives – we are here to adopt transformative policies.

Republicans said the $ 3.5 billion effort did not solve “the crisis facing American families” and would lead to rising inflation and deficits.

“The inflation crisis, the border crisis, the energy crisis, the Afghanistan crisis – this budget only makes it worse,” said Jason Smith of Missouri, top Republican on the committee. of the House budget.