Democrats steamroll toward showdown on House floor
| House progressives appear poised for a showdown with their own leadership team as Democrats steamroll toward a Monday vote on a Senate-passed infrastructure bill that is a key part of President Biden’s agenda.
Progressives on Thursday — one day after a high-profile White House meeting — insisted they’ll vote against Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, which some call the “BIF,” if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) goes ahead with a vote she promised to deliver to centrists in her caucus by Sept. 27. “The BIF, alone on Monday? No — no, no, no, no, no,” said freshman Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), a member of the liberal Squad. “I’m still with Pramila and still with my progressive colleagues that we want to pass reconciliation before we pass the BIF. That’s still the case.” Pramila is Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the head of the Progressive Caucus, who insists half of her 96-member-strong caucus will vote against the infrastructure bill if the House goes ahead with the vote and does not first move forward with a larger $3.5 trillion spending package. |
