Pelosi wrote late Friday that a deal on a legislative framework to support Democrats' social spending plan is required before the House can vote on the Senate-passed Infrastructure bill. This delay angered moderates and delayed a vote.
Moderates were furious at the untimely end of a week's worth of high-stakes negotiations. They blamed their fellow Democrats for preventing what they considered a simple, critical win for their party.
While centrists were raging it was a tactical victory for Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Congressional Progressive Caucus chair. She went toe-to-toe and consolidated liberals' muscle in the caucus that defied the expectations of many in their party.
Jayapal stated that people had a tremendous buy-in to strategy and content and were willing to fight for everyone and leave no one behind. Jayapal left the Capitol on Friday night.
Democrats were concerned that the failure to reach a deal on either their infrastructure vote or social spending bill would have long-lasting consequences, despite the usual intraparty conflict narrative. After a day of intense meetings, many left the Capitol wondering if their party was on track for achieving neither of Biden's major domestic priorities.
The biden's visit to Capitol caps a three-month period in which Pelosi made seemingly contradicting deals with two factions of her caucus, amid increasing threats. These promises came to an abrupt halt this week. It is not clear if Pelosi, Biden and Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer will be able to regain the momentum necessary for either of the domestic goals of President Obama.
Many Democrats believed that Biden's rare Friday appearance with House Democrats would help to rally support for the $550billion infrastructure bill. However, Biden actually achieved the opposite.
Biden stated in the private caucus meeting that the infrastructure bill is not going to be passed until there is an agreement on the next piece.
This announcement shocked Democrats from moderates, who had been promised a vote on infrastructure bill by the leadership for several weeks, to rank and file members just wanting to know what the next steps were.
I was a little skeptical that the president would have sought my support. But. He called for unity, and said, "Let's work through it together," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn).
"It was an astonishing failure to meet the moment," said one Democratic moderate who was disappointed that Biden had not issued a call for action for the caucus.
Some Democrats claimed that Biden had made significant progress in unifying the party behind his Social Safety Net Bill that would reform policies on Child Care, Health and Climate Change by significantly lowering expectations of what was originally going to cost up to $3.5 trillion.
Biden tried to lower these expectations at Friday's meeting, where he discussed a price range for the legislation of $1.9 trillion to $2.3 trillion. This suggests that it may win support from Senate moderates. After initially being hesitant about the idea of a lower price tag for their legislation, progressives rallied behind it.
However, centrist Democrats were concerned that Sen. Kyrsten Silena (D.Ariz.), who together with Sen. Joe Manchin(D.W.Va.) are key to any agreement on the social spending plan, would withdraw from the negotiations after the House had once again stalled on the infrastructure bill. Moderate Democrats were also concerned that the setback could cost them votes from the dozen or so House Republicans who had planned to support the Senate infrastructure bill.
Liberals were revived, however.
"I feel great," declared Rep. Chuy Garca (D.Ill.), one dozens of progressives who threatened to veto the president's infrastructure bill without promising to support the larger spending plan.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D.Texas) added, "I feel like we have an affirmation regarding the direction we are moving in." .
It is unclear what the future holds. Pelosi has pledged to work with Schumer, the White House and Sinema to reach a deal.
Democratic leaders hope to convince the two powerful Senate centrists that they agree to a spending bill with a target of $2.1 trillion and a consensus on key policy issues such as child care, paid family leave, and climate change.
The House will be closed for two weeks while negotiations continue. Once lawmakers return to the House to vote on a deal, or to address the debt ceiling, they need to be back in session to vote.
Pelosi and her leadership did discuss another procedural vote regarding the president's infrastructure spending packages. This is a bizarre procedural tactic to formalize the bills and demonstrate forward momentum on them. The idea was rejected by moderates, and the leadership dropped it at dinnertime on Friday.
Instead, Democrats passed a 30-day fix for a highways funding program and sent lawmakers home.
Everyone is hung up on this: it must be this date or this date, this hour, or that hour. We want to pass two bills. Rep. Jim McGovern (D.Mass. .
They are listening to progressives and also understand that there are other wings within our party. We must listen to everyone, and that is what's happening right now.
Burgess Everett was a contributor to this report.
