Republican House leaders launch all-out campaign to sink infrastructure

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Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority House Whip Steve Scalise both personally called members and spoke to House lawmakers, according to GOP sources. And while Republican leaders do not threaten members who support the bill, they are forceful with their arguments, these sources said.

“Our argument is that infrastructure is a gateway drug to reconciliation,” said a source close to Operation Whip.

The source expects between a dozen and 20 House Republicans to vote ‘yes’ on the legislation, but said that would not be enough to make up for the massive defections progressives threaten if the bill is introduced. without agreement on legislation to extend the social safety net through reconciliation.

“There won’t be enough Republicans to wear this if there is widespread opposition,” the person said.

A Republican member said the flogging operation was “quite intense”. Another Republican described the effort as an “8 out of 10”. And a Third House Republican said, “We’re very serious about this.”

Liberals revolt against Pelosi's plan to hold infrastructure vote without social safety net bill

While GOP leaders have acknowledged that there will be Republicans crossing party lines, Scalise said at a press conference earlier this week that they will “work to keep that number as low as possible.” .

The rush to limit GOP defections underscores how high the stakes are for both sides. President Joe Biden’s national agenda is on the verge of imploding as Democratic leaders struggle to unite warring factions within their party. And Republicans – well aware that infrastructure transition and reconciliation may be Democrats’ best hope for retaining their majority next year – are eager to keep the spotlight on disarray across the aisle.

Moderate Democratic Representative Stephanie Murphy, co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, criticized Republicans and Progressive Democrats for not supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“I urge my fellow Republicans to abandon their cynical quest for political advantage and vote for this good bill,” she told the House on Wednesday. “And I ask my fellow Democrats to reject their ill-fated efforts to gain influence over members of their own party and vote for this good bill.”

This is the second time this year that the GOP House leadership has worked against a bill that was developed by members of their own conference. Earlier this year, Republican leaders unofficially encouraged GOP members to oppose a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurgency, even after McCarthy mandated one of his own allies to conclude. agreement on the bill.

In both cases, there seems to be a common denominator: Donald Trump. The former president still holds considerable sway over the House GOP conference and has publicly opposed both the Jan.6 commission and the infrastructure bill. Taking inspiration from Trump, some members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus have even threatened to campaign against fellow Republicans who support the infrastructure package.

A counter-whip operation emerges

But even as House GOP leaders work overtime to condemn the infrastructure bill, a sort of backlash operation has started to emerge in recent weeks. Republican senators, GOP governors and outside industry groups called on House Republicans and encouraged them to support the bill, according to members who received the calls.

The US Chamber of Commerce has also stepped up its lobbying campaign, targeting a list of 57 GOP members and holding meetings with House Republicans. The pro-business group also held satellite meetings in 20 different target markets and urged viewers to contact their representatives to support the bill.

So far, only a handful of House Republicans have publicly committed to supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill, including Representatives John Katko of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Tom Reed of New York. But other moderate Republicans find themselves caught between wanting to support a package that would provide popular articles for their districts and not wanting to give Democrats a victory while opposing their own party leadership.

Gradual uprising marks existential moment for Democrats

The group of Senate Republicans who voted for and helped develop the bipartisan infrastructure bill also manage their own meter programming, circulate memos, and speak on the phone to House Republicans who have questions about the content of this bill.

“GOP senators who supported (the bipartisan infrastructure bill) are furious,” a House Republican said.

A Republican Senator – Rob Portman of Ohio – told CNN he wanted GOP leaders to stay on the sidelines of it.

“I would have liked to have seen them stay neutral,” said Portman.

“I spoke to Republicans in the House about it,” added Portman. “Every day I talk to a few … They’re going to make their own decisions. I’m just providing information.”

“People are confusing the two bills, saying that the bad policy that’s in the reconciliation bill is in the infrastructure bill, which is not surprising.… But these are bills. very different law. “

While Republican House leaders have said they oppose the infrastructure bill because they fear it will pave the way for a massive economic bill, others have questioned this wisdom. , arguing that helping to win an infrastructure victory might actually win the progressives. leverage in reconciliation negotiations.

“What a crazy situation: House GOP’s effort to defeat the infrastructure bill helps Bernie / AOC’s strategy of defeating the infrastructure bill in order to gain leverage to pass the bill. reconciliation law “, tweeted Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Policy Director of the United States Chamber of Commerce. “If the GOP votes yes on infrastructure, progressives lose their influence.”

But McCarthy rebuffed the idea, saying these people “are wrong” and arguing that the Democrats’ controversial internal bickering over which of the bills gets a floor vote first only proves their argument that the two are inextricably linked. related.

“If it wasn’t linked, why didn’t we vote on (infrastructure) on Monday? McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday.

CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.



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