WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – The government is open but House Democrats are still working toward a vote on President Biden’s massive infrastructure legislation that is stuck in limbo.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed the vote late Thursday night as progressives dug in on their demands over a larger social spending plan.
The stakes are high for President Biden as he tries to get his own party to pass his promised agenda.
Democrats are in the rare position right now of controlling the House, the Senate, and the White House, yet they’ve been locked in a struggle to find common ground and deliver a legislative victory for the president.
With pressure mounting to unite his party and close the deal on his top legislative priorities, President Biden made the trip to Capitol Hill Friday. He’s stepping in to a high-stakes game of tug of war as Democrats struggle to get on the same page.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed a vote on a trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill because progressive Democrats oppose it without a separate deal in place on a larger social spending plan.
Two moderate Democrats stand in the way: Senator Joe Manchin publicly supports a $1.5 trillion package, $2 trillion short of the white house-backed plan.
Despite deep divisions, Democrats are committed to passing both bills knowing what’s on the line.
One crisis is off the list. President Biden signed a bill into law overnight just in time to avert a government shutdown.
Congress has not yet addressed a potentially catastrophic default on the nation’s debt that could trigger a damaging recession if lawmakers don’t raise the country’s borrowing limit in a little more than two weeks.
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