'Yet for all the chaos, backbiting, and distrust, there was still the sense among Democrats that something would get done,' reports bencjacobs
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images/Shutterstock On Tuesday afternoon, Pramila Jayapal walked into Nancy Pelosi’s office in the Capitol bearing a threat. The leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus told the speaker of the House that she and some 50 colleagues would torpedo a cherished bipartisan infrastructure bill unless their demands on a separate, far more expensive bill were met.
The fight is over two different pieces of legislation which form the centerpiece of Biden’s domestic agenda. One is a bill passed by the Senate in August on bipartisan lines that would spend nearly $1 trillion on infrastructure. The other is a $3.5 trillion grab bag called the Build Back Better Act that would vastly expand the social safety net and combat climate change by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
Progressives aren’t just wary though of moderates blocking the reconciliation bill, they worry that they will try to drastically shrink it as well. Both bills had already been whittled down, with the reconciliation bill’s initial price tag at $6 trillion. “We don’t see much reason to negotiate down,” insisted Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who led the progressive caucus before Jayapal.
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