Pelosi reportedly had vulnerable House Democrats remind colleagues how terrible failure would be

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gathered her caucus for a closed-door meeting Monday night to prepare for what one House Democrat has described as the "week from hell." In a worst-case scenario, Democrats end the week with the bipartisan infrastructure bill defeated, their (less than) $3.5 trillion Build Back Better package dead on arrival, and the government partially shut down, with limited time and options to avert a debt default in roughly two weeks.

It is unlikely Democrats will allow a government shutdown, but a standoff between a handful of centrist and progressive Democrats could very well sink President Biden's domestic agenda. Pelosi said during the 90-minute meeting that the House will still vote Thursday on the infrastructure bill (BIF), even without a commitment from hardball centrists to support the emerging BBB package, which Pelosi also said will be less than the $3.5 trillion sought by Biden and most other Democrats.

At Monday night's meeting, Pelosi "and a roster of congressional allies — including some of the House's most vulnerable candidates — made the case for unity among the party's increasingly discordant liberal and moderate ranks," The Washington Post reports. The vulnerable 2022 incumbents, "colloquially known on the Hill as 'frontliners,'" underscored that "they share their goal of passing Biden's agenda" and "that failure to pass either bill would be much more consequential of a loss."

Progressives said afterward they may still tank the infrastructure bill on Thursday without significant movement on the BBB package, but there is "a softening in Democratic negotiations," Politico reports. "Progressives have stopped insisting on $3.5 trillion in spending; they're less focused on the top-line number than what programs make it into the plan. Moderates, meanwhile, have been clear that they're in favor of a reconciliation bill — just one with a much smaller price tag."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pelosi-reportedly-had-vulnerable-house-110420543.html

[LonePirate]

1. The centrists need to realize their jobs, not those of the progressives', are in jeopardy next year.

Most of the progressives come from safe Dem seats and will be easily re-elected next year. The centrists come from much less safe seats and are far more prone to being defeated either in a primary or in the general next year. If the centrists don't want to pass bills or help Americans, they will be voted out of office in 2022.

[Walleye]

3. Great. Then Kevin McCarthy will be Speaker

Come on people we’re all on the same team here

[LonePirate]

4. Evidently the centrists are on the Republican side of things.

Both bills would have already cleared the House were it not for the centrists in the House and the two filibuster-loving Dem senators.

[brush]

2. The OP signals they're getting there. The bill is going to pass, at less than 3.5T though.

[PoliticAverse]

6. Yeah, it's just a matter of when and how much less...

Could be $1 trillion and right before the midterms next year.

[brush]

10. Oh, ye of little faith. IMO it'll be faster than that.

[PoliticAverse]

5. This is why Pelosi's original plan of linking the bills was doomed to failure...

the bi-partisan bill is too important to people to make a good bargaining chip.

[Celerity]

7. Not really, most of the items in it are long term projects with little immediate impact, unlike

the reconciliation bill, which has a multiplicity of immediate impact big ticket items, far more than the vastly diminished bi-partisan bill (Manchin, Sinema, and the Rethugs gutted almost 80% of Biden's new spend proposals in it, from $2.6 trillion, down to only $550 billion).

[PoliticAverse]

8. The fact that Pelosi is pushing the bi-partisan bill forward and not waiting for the reconciliation

bill is testimony as to its "more importance" to the people doing the bill voting.

That doesn't mean that the reconciliation bill won't ultimately have a bigger "impact" that the bi-partisan one.

[brush]

9. She's taken the temperature of Congress and the nation and realizes that...

Biden needs a victory right now, ASAP, before all the negativity of the delta spikes and Afghanistan sink his poll ratings further and put holding Congressional majorities in the upcoming mid-terms out of reach.

The Build Back Better bill IMO will pass soon afterwards but at a lesser amount than 3.5 trillion.

[wellst0nev0ter]

14. This is the ACA all over again

Democrats opted to pass what is merely "passable" over going big, with vague promises of building upon the bill, and it ended up costing them control of government because the benefits kicked in too far into the future.

I guarantee you, nobody will reward you for the infrastructure bill. All they will remember is that Biden failed to deliver on the majority of his promises during the first years.

[brush]

15. You might think that Nancy Pelosi will be done once the bipartisan bill is passed. I don't for one..

minute. And if you know anything about the Speaker, you'd know she won't quit with just that one bill. And you'd also know that two recalcitrant senators are to blame for this whole mess. If Manchin and Sinema had gotten on board the bills could've been passed weeks ago.

Place the blame where it belongs.

And if the progressive Dems scuttle the bipartisan bill, continue to place the blame where it belongs...Manchin and Sinema. Not Pelosi, not Biden, not Schumer, although the MSM will certainly follow the lead of what you posted.

[wellst0nev0ter]

16. Pelosi has already walked back the idea that the two bills should be linked

The leadership has given Manchinema concessions after concessions without getting anything in return.

This thing would have gone a lot smoother if we combined the bills earlier in the year and leaned on the holdout to support Biden's agenda or return to their constituents empty-handed.

[Celerity]

11. I disagree insomuch as that is far too much speculation on motives.

[wellst0nev0ter]

12. They think passing only the BIF is going to save them?

The media and the goops will crucify the dems and Biden for failing to pass his most robust agenda.

Nobody is going to care if a few road gets fixed with that puny BIF bill.

All dems need to get it in their heads that we either rise together or fall apart.

[Wounded Bear]

13. Simple fact: If we don't pass these two bills we lose the House and Senate in 22...

It really is that simple.