House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delayed a planned vote Thursday for the House’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
The bill was scheduled for a Thursday vote after already experiencing multiple delays as Pelosi blocks the bill in hopes of forcing Democrats to fall in line. The bill passed in the Senate in August.
The bill was originally planned by Democrats as one part of a two-part strategy to pass bills on infrastructure along with a massive $3.5 trillion spending bill also known as President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
In addition to pushback from Republicans, Pelosi faces opposition from progressives in her own party who are committed to passing both bills in connection.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus continues to press for Democrat Senate holdouts Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) to support the spending bill before they will support the House’s infrastructure bill.
“Progressives have been clear: we support the President’s ENTIRE agenda,” CPC leader and Rep. Pramila Jaypal (D-WA) tweeted.
“We’ll pass critical funding for roads and bridges but we won’t leave behind long-overdue investments in the care economy, climate action, housing, health care, and immigration,” she added.
Progressives have been clear: we support the President’s ENTIRE agenda.
We’ll pass critical funding for roads and bridges but we won’t leave behind long-overdue investments in the care economy, climate action, housing, health care, and immigration.https://t.co/Uch4Aizsd3
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) October 29, 2021
The battle will continue into November next week as the nation marks one year since Biden was elected president.