Democrat Senator: Nancy Pelosi Can Postpone Vote on ‘Bipartisan’ Infrastructure Bill

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told reporters Tuesday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) can — and maybe should — break her signed promise to House Democrats and postpone the vote on the $1.2 trillion “bipartisan” infrastructure bill next week.

“The bipartisan bill does not expire. The House can pass it this month. The House can pass it next month. It will still have a very important impact on the country. I would hope that we’d be able to do both,” Fox News reporter tweeted Murphy’s comments.

Murphy continued to say Pelosi’s signed agreement with House Democrats does not matter, suggesting a vote on the bill by the September 27 deadline is “arbitrary.”

“I think it’s not enough to do hard infrastructure spending,” Murphy explained. “There’s no need to put arbitrary deadlines on when the hard infrastructure bill passes the House.”

On August 24, Pelosi negotiated a signed deal to continue the infrastructure negotiations in which more temperate Democrats secured a standalone vote for the bipartisan bill, excluding the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said the deal with Pelosi “does what we set out to do: secure a standalone vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, send it to the President’s desk, and then separately consider the reconciliation package.”

In response, Pelosi said the deal represents “committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27.”

Despite Murphy’s appeal for Pelosi to break her agreement with House Democrats, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) on Monday reportedly requested Pelosi honor her promise of commencing a vote for the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on deadline.

If the House fails to meet the September 27 deadline, Sinema will reportedly oppose Biden’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. Sinema’s ultimatum is important because just one “no” Democrat vote in the Senate would tank the reconciliation package after the House potentially approves the package.

But with the deadline of September 27 approaching and Democrats’ fears growing over if they can pass the “bipartisan” deal without the far-left Democrats’ support — which the far-left has threatened — the Democrat Party appears to be ripping at the seems.

“If any member of Congress is not concerned that this could fall apart, they need treatment,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) told Politico in reference to the divide in the party. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) added she wishes the party “could all be more on the same page” and that “we better have a Plan B.”

The Democrat Party remains torn over the expense of President Joe Biden’s agenda, totaling more than $4 trillion dollars. On Sunday, the Senate parliamentarian ended the Democrats’ long shot proposal of including amnesty into the deal, throwing a wrench into Democrats’ plans to further lower wages for the American family.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø