House speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats are ‘on a path to win’ infrastructure vote
Democrats have an almost mystical faith in Nancy Pelosi's ability to count votes, corral her caucus and pass historic legislation. But her reputation is facing its toughest test as the House speaker, trapped between progressive and moderate Democrats, struggles to save President Joe Biden's transformational agenda.
Pelosi managed to defuse one Democratic rebellion Wednesday, as the House narrowly passed a measure extending the government's borrowing authority until December 2022. But she has so far failed to solve a far bigger drama that is splitting the Democratic Party. Pelosi's persuasive powers and legislative maneuvers have failed and several gambles, designed to enact a $3.5 trillion social spending plan and a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, have backfired.
But the speaker insisted on Thursday that she was still trying to find a way to pass the infrastructure part of that duo in a vote later in the day, even though progressives warn they won't back it unless they get guarantees on the larger package that is facing opposition from moderate senators.
"We're on a path to win the vote. I don't want to even consider any options other than that," Pelosi said during an enigmatic news conference on a dramatic day on Capitol Hill. "Let me just tell you about negotiating. At the end, that's when you really have to weigh in. You cannot tire. You cannot concede. This is the fun part."
The showdown is over what supporters say is the most significant legislation in generations to help working Americans access child care, education and health care. The measures are not only critical to Biden; they would crown Pelosi's own legacy toward the end of a pioneering career that, until Kamala Harris became vice president, made her the highest-ranking woman in US political history.
The California Democrat is in her second turn with the gavel, after going head-to-head with Republican President George W. Bush after becoming speaker in 2007. Her role enacting economy-saving legislation during the 2008 financial crisis and driving President Barack Obama's agenda into law, including the Affordable Care Act, made her one of the dominant political figures of the early 21st century. But as she tries to pass trillions of dollars in infrastructure and social spending, Pelosi is now in what looks like an impossible situation.
"I wish Nancy Pelosi well. She has defied a lot of common belief and come through in the past when she's faced these challenges," Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.
"I'm not going to gainsay her situation now."
Tags: Nancy Pelosi
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