Can they do it?
Or could President Biden become a lame duck President in less than a year IN office?
This IS on them …..
Pelosi , Schumer and arm twisting by Biden…
President Joe Biden and Senate negotiators took their first big step toward an infrastructure deal last week. Now comes the real monster: approval of the budget that makes it all happen.
To secure the votes for a bipartisan accord, Democrats must achieve total Senate unity while walking a political tightrope in the House — where internal spats are already unfolding on immigration, climate and the debt as the party shapes a second spending bill designed to pass alongside the infrastructure compromise. Failure to find party agreement on the separate, larger bill could tank both of them, leaving Biden and Democrats with an infrastructure mess.
The first test of Democratic harmony will likely arrive in July, in the form of a wonky fight over the budget blueprint that would set a price ceiling for the sweeping Democratic bill. That floor vote won’t be simple for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team, who need to win over both impatient progressives and anxious centrists without losing more than four votes.
Those House dynamics will have major consequences for Biden’s agenda beyond physical infrastructure. Democrats need a budget to unlock the process known as reconciliation, which allows the president and party leaders to sidestep a Senate GOP filibuster of the larger package addressing child care, climate change and other progressive priorities that they’ve said must accompany any bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“Nancy always says unity is our strength,” said House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), referring to the speaker. “In this case, unity is our only chance.”
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Most Democrats believe their leadership will ultimately pull it off, but they acknowledge there is almost no margin for error. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), already has said he would likely oppose a budget resolution that includes trillions more in spending, a no vote that would shrink Pelosi’s majority from four to three. (Her majority is also set to shrink after a special election in Texas at the end of July.)
A few other Democrats privately say they’re worried that the party’s budget will include too big of a wishlist — rather than what can actually be achieved by the 50-50 Senate. They also fear it could spook Republicans out of backing the bipartisan talks, which righted over the weekend after a rocky Friday….