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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi postponed a planned vote on a $ 1 billion infrastructure bill Thursday evening in a crushing defeat for Democrats following the uprising of the Progressives, refusing their support until a deal can be reached to implement Joe Biden’s economic vision. .
The decision capped a frantic day of negotiations in Washington that dragged on into the late evening as the president and Democratic leaders tried to break the deadlock between a handful of moderates, who pushed for the vote on the infrastructure, and progressives who think it would be insufficient without a broader social policy package of $ 3.5 billion.
“A lot of progress has been made this week, and we are closer than ever to a deal,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said after the House announced that there was no would not have a vote on Thursday. “But we’re not there yet, so we’ll need a little more time to finish the job, starting early tomorrow morning.”
Democrats insisted the setback was temporary, but the delay underscored the fragile state of negotiations as a pair of Senate refractories demanded the president drastically cut back on larger legislation containing many of the top priorities party policies. The House was due to meet again on Friday, giving Democrats at least one more day to try to reach a deal that would satisfy the warring factions.
Both elements are essential to Biden’s economic vision. He spent weeks personally wooing Republican senators for a bipartisan victory over the infrastructure bill, which would invest $ 1 billion in upgrades to roads, bridges and broadband. But he has staked his presidency – and his legacy – on passing the massive social policy bill that would expand health care, make child care more affordable, establish paid federal leave and tackle the climate crisis. , paid for by tax increases on wealthy Americans and businesses. .
In a loosely worded letter to colleagues Thursday night, Pelosi called it a “day of progress.”
“Discussions are continuing with the House, Senate and White House to reach a bicameral framework agreement to build back better through a reconciliation bill,” she wrote.
“All of this momentum brings us closer to crafting the reconciliation bill in a way that will be passed by the House and Senate,” she said, concluding the letter with the promise: “More to follow. . “
The delayed vote was a blow to Pelosi, a self-proclaimed master negotiator who earlier insisted Democrats were “on their way to winning” the infrastructure vote.. “That’s the fun part,” she boasted to reporters Thursday, referring to the chaotic home stretch before securing a major legislative achievement.
Still, with just three votes to spare and Republicans widely opposed, Pelosi was unable to disentangle competing promises made to progressives and centrists in time to vote on Thursday.
In an effort to appease a small group of centrist Democrats, Pelosi has vowed to bring the infrastructure bill to the House for a vote this week. But progressives have long argued that they would only support this bill if passed in tandem with the much more expensive $ 3.5 billion package.
When it became clear on Thursday that the Senate was not ready to pass the legislation as drafted, progressives maintained their threat to defeat the infrastructure bill, which they saw as leverage to ensure the implementation of the entire Biden business vision.
The fate of Biden’s agenda remains in limbo, and with Democrats at deep disagreement, it was unclear on Thursday night how they planned to progress.
The terms of the negotiations were largely determined by two recalcitrant Democrats in the Senate, who oppose the current size of the spending program. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said on Thursday he would not support a spending program exceeding $ 1.5 billion, less than half the size of the proposal put forward by Biden and most of the Democratic Party. .
In the midst of negotiations and with just a few hours to spare, Congress passed legislation to avoid a midnight government shutdown on Thursday, with Biden later signing a measure that would fund the federal government until December 3.
The measure was passed by the House and Senate with bipartisan support, although a significant number of Republicans voted against it.
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