the pressure's on
Nancy Pelosi may be facing her 'biggest challenge' as speaker
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) helped Democrats push through Obamacare back in 2010, but while that took a grueling effort, her current goal of wrangling support for the dual track bipartisan infrastructure and reconciliation budget bills may be the more gargantuan task thanks to the moderate-progressive split that has unfolded among Democratic lawmakers, Politico reports.
Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) said he's "got a lot of faith" in Pelosi, who has "worked a lot of magic," but he told Politico he's still concerned the strategy could fail. "This is probably the biggest challenge that she's ever faced, that we as a caucus have faced," he said.
Pelosi herself has reportedly privately told her colleagues in recent weeks that she's well-aware of just how high the stakes are. As Politico writes, this time around Pelosi is dealing with the narrowest majority she's had, giving her little room to maneuver on such significant legislation. And it also may be her last term in Congress, so "the outcome of the coming weeks could effectively be the denouement of her long career." Read more at Politico.