Pelosi Clashes With Moderate Democrats

(TheRedWire.com) – For weeks, 10 Centrist Democrats warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) they would balk at fast-tracking the Left’s go-it-alone $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. Instead, the Moderates want to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the Senate ahead of the reconciliation budget plan. However, the Speaker wants to hold the bipartisan bill hostage until Senate Democrats send over the liberal dream bill. On Monday, August 23, at least five Moderates refused to change their stance.

Democrats are fighting among themselves over the order in which they pass bills they say they all support. https://t.co/qUJR4v0jUp

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) August 23, 2021

Pelosi doesn’t like to negotiate with rank-and-file members, but this time, they didn’t afford her a choice in the matter. With only three votes to spare in the lower chamber, the Left was anxious, worried, and angry because the Moderates might kill their plan. During a late-night meeting of House Democrats, several proponents of Pelosi’s strategy tried to exert pressure on those holding them back. The Speaker called it a once-in-a-lifetime “transformative” moment. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told them they need to “come to grips” and trust one another.

In the early morning hours on Tuesday, Pelosi sent caucus representatives home without a deal. They reconvened later that day and reached a deal whereby House Speaker Pelosi will bring the $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill before the lower chamber of Congress for consideration by September 27 in exchange for the Democratic caucus Centrists’ votes to pass the $3.5 trillion budget resolution. The proposed budget resolution passed the House along party lines 220 to 212 late Tuesday afternoon.

House passes $3.5 trillion budget plan, aims to vote on infrastructure package by late September https://t.co/KMixJXSHQ0

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 24, 2021

Now, House members must compile the budget into a full legislative document before beginning the reconciliation process to bypass a Republican filibuster. Even so, the reconciliation bill may face difficulties in the Senate where Moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have said they will oppose it.