House Democrats are fearing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will break her promise and cancel Thursday’s vote on the $1.2 trillion “bipartisan” infrastructure bill. The vote was already canceled once on Monday.
“If the vote were to fail tomorrow or be delayed, there would be a significant breach in trust that would slow the momentum in moving forward in delivering the Biden agenda,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) said Wednesday.
Democratic Representative from Florida Stephanie Murphy reacts as she speaks during the Select Committee investigation of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, during their first hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2021. (Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) told the Associated Press (AP) the anger and “ultimatums” Democrats are negotiating around are “not healthy” and are sure to doom the vote.
“It’s not healthy for the Democrats to be issuing ultimatums about tactics” against each other, said Welch. “It’s politically, existentially important to us to be successful. We fail, we’re doomed.”
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) speaks to Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) during a hearing to discuss unsustainable drug prices with CEO’s of major drug companies on September 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Nash/Getty Images)
Pelosi’s former chief of staff John Lawrence told the AP the whole political standoff is like a “gunfight at the OK Corral.”
“Everybody has their guns pointed at each other,” Lawrence explained about the infighting. “You either pull the trigger or go back into the saloon and try to work this thing out.”
But far-left Democrats are suspicious of the more temperate Democrats who have 2022 midterms to consider before voting through President Biden’s massive tax and spend bills. Worried their radical agenda will fail if “moderates” get a vote on the “bipartisan” bill, the far-left does not want to give up their leverage to pass the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.
As a result, the far-left has demanded they get assurances from more temperate Democrats that the massive spending and tax increased will go forward no matter what.
“My father told me when I was growing up, there’s a fine line between being a good guy [and a] “fool,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) told the AP. “I don’t want to be rolled.”
Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on House Resolution 755 on December 17, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“We are not blindly trusting that these bills are going to get done in the Senate, without actually having that be guaranteed,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) added.
U.S. Rep. Ihan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference on July 7, 2020 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
But Senate Democrats have urged House Democrats to force Pelosi to break her promise.
“I hope to see our progressives in the House stand strong. They know the deal that we all agreed to months ago,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told Politico.
As for Pelosi, she said over the weekend no vote will occur if she feels the bill will be tanked by the radical left, “I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes… You cannot choose the date,” she added. “You have to go when you have the votes.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø
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