PARIS (France 24) - Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has withdrawn a promised vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill after failing to win enough support from her own lawmakers, in a stark illustration of the deep internal divisions threatening President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The California congresswoman had promised to put up the legislation in the lower chamber after it advanced from the Senate with cross-party support, with moderates keen to notch an easy victory for Biden on what would be one of the largest spending packages in history.
But progressives insisted they would sink the proposals after getting no clear sign from the centrist faction that they would commit to an even broader $3.5 trillion social spending package Biden is touting as the cornerstone of his plan to transform the U.S. economy.
The threat left Pelosi with a dilemma: bring the infrastructure bill to the floor, where it has very little Republican support and would likely be sunk by Democratic liberals, or risk the ire of moderates by announcing a delay.
Pelosi didn’t comment immediately, but the White House vowed to bring the warring groups back to the table on Biden’s two-pronged strategy first thing on Friday.
“A great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever,” Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“But we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.”
The prospect of the infrastructure bill being signed into law appeared to be out of reach throughout a day of intense negotiations in Congress and the White House, with no agreement on the contents or proposed ticket price for the giant social welfare bill, known as “Build Back Better.”
A group of Republicans who backed the infrastructure deal in the Senate, including former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, released a statement saying they were “disappointed” with the setback but hopeful the bill would eventually succeed.
A long day in Washington had started on a brighter note with Congress sending a stopgap bill with support from both parties for Biden’s signature to avert a damaging government shutdown at midnight -- when the fiscal year ends.
It was a rare show of cross-party unity that only threw into sharper relief the Democratic leadership’s struggle to overcome fierce infighting among its rank-and-file.
“There’s so much more to do,” the president said in a statement after signing the measure into law.
“But the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people.”