⚡ Punchbowl News Special Edition: Problem Solved

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN
WITH MAX COHEN AND CHRISTIAN HALL

New: After a day of stunning inefficiency showcasing Democrats’ inability to get their act together, the House Tuesday passed a rule approving a $3.5 trillion budget resolution and clearing the way for action on big portions of President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan and American Family Plan. The vote was 220-212.

The rule also paved the way for a vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which the House will take up today.

To get the rule through, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to cut a deal with a group of 10 House Democrats — led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), pictured above — who demanded a vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan Senate infrastructure bill before voting on the budget resolution.

They didn’t get that from Pelosi, but they got an agreement that the House will consider the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. 

“On Oct. 1, the authorizations for highways etc. will expire Sept. 30,” Pelosi said on the House floor. “And by Oct. 1, we will hope to have in place — that is the plan to have in place — the legislation for infrastructure that is bipartisan.”

However, for progressives, the Sept. 27 agreement is still contingent on a near simultaneous vote on a gigantic social spending package. When asked about the new end-of-September deadline, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she views the two pieces of legislation as being tied together, and indicated her vote on infrastructure is contingent on a reconciliation package being ready for a vote.

“If that is not the case then they shouldn’t count on us,” Ocasio-Cortez warned about progressives.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus says its members will not vote for infrastructure until after reconciliation. So you can see the problems bubbling up already. The leverage has shifted back to the progressives from the moderates. 

This deal, in essence, punts much of the action to next month — pushing government funding, debt limit, infrastructure and reconciliation in the fall. Of course, the moderate crew didn’t get what it wanted with infrastructure and we’ll see if this was the right strategic play.

Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday that she will “rally House Democratic support” for the infrastructure bill in September.

Republicans complained that Democrats were just passing “Bernie’s budget,” referring to Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“This is the people’s House. It’s not ‘Pelosi’s Palace.’ This is the people’s House,” complained Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), ranking member of the Budget Committee.