A failed House infrastructure vote would be 'a serious blow' to the bipartisan bill but maybe not 'fatal'

Nancy Pelosi
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday "pretty much ensured defeat of the bipartisan infrastructure deal known as BIF, if the House votes on it at all today," Politico predicted Thursday morning. Progressive House Democrats have threatened to sink the legislation unless Manchin and his fellow centrists give a firm commitment that they will support the larger, more ambitious reconciliation package that completes President Biden's domestic agenda. Manchin called the current reconciliation framework "the definition of fiscal insanity" and suggested starting from scratch.

"In their fight over trillions of dollars, their paramount policy goals, and perhaps their political fate, this isn't helping," The Associated Press reports: "Democratic progressives and centrists say they don't trust each other."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"The plan is to bring the bill to the floor" on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) said Wednesday night. But asked if she has to votes to pass it, she said, "One hour at a time."

The most likely scenario is that the BIF vote gets delayed, though that would irritate or even infuriate key moderates, Politico's Playbook team writes. The second-most-likely outcome is that Pelosi holds the vote and it goes down, even though that "would be an embarrassment for party leaders. But BIF looked dead several times in the Senate before it suddenly passed with bipartisan support. A losing vote in the House similarly wouldn't necessarily spell the end."

The bottom line is that "a failed or delayed vote would deal a serious blow to BIF and reconciliation, potentially slowing the process by days or weeks until tempers cool," Politico argues. "But we'd be surprised if it's fatal: If Biden and Democratic leaders ask for some more time to figure this out, it's hard to imagine moderates walking away for good."

Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.