Thom Tillis: ‘Profoundly Disappointed’ Pelosi Holding Infrastructure Hostage

Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) office said Monday he is “profoundly disappointed” that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats are holding the infrastructure deal hostage.

Tillis, one of the six additional Senate Republicans who backed a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, soured on President Joe Biden and Pelosi’s demand to pass an infrastructure bill alongside the Democrats’ more leftist reconciliation bill. Biden softened his rhetoric on his ultimatum; however, Pelosi has yet to relent on her demands to pass both bills in tandem.

Daniel Keylin, a spokesman for Tillis, said Monday, “While Sen. Tillis is pleased with the bipartisan framework agreed to by the Senate and President Biden, he is profoundly disappointed to see Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats engage in political hostage-taking.”

Tillis’ office’s statement follows as other Senate Republicans charged Monday that passing both infrastructure bills would lead to a dramatic expansion of the welfare state.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said:

Any compromise on paid-for infrastructure is a bad deal so long as President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Schumer insist on pursuing a multi-trillion dollar tax-and-spend reconciliation package to further transform Americans’ relationship with our government through a cradle to grave welfare state.

A spokesperson for Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said:

President Biden made clear that he won’t sign this bipartisan infrastructure compromise unless he has a social welfare package to sign with it which undermines the purpose of a bipartisan proposal. With a 50-50 split Senate and each Senator having the power to stop any legislation from moving forward, Senator Daines hopes that Senator Tester would not allow President Biden to hold any true infrastructure compromise hostage and refuse to support a multi-trillion dollar social welfare package with massive tax increases.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Monday that he wants to ensure a bipartisan infrastructure deal does not result in funding “Green New Deal socialism.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.