Biden seeks to bring his party together amid infighting over agenda

WASHINGTON — The true fate of President Biden’s legislative agenda was always going to be clear when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V. huddled with progressives to tell them what he’s specifically for on reconciliation, and when Biden rolled up his sleeves to tell his party how it should proceed.

Today, it appears we might get an answer to that second question — or at least the beginning of the answer.

President Biden is expected to meet today with House and Senate Democrats to discuss a way forward on the infrastructure/reconciliation legislative packages, especially with the infrastructure bill set for a House vote on Monday, per NBC News.

“As of Tuesday evening, the White House had not settled on the final timing and invite list for the gatherings but a source familiar with the planning told NBC News that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are expected to attend a 2 p.m. ET meeting at the White House,” NBC’s Teaganne Finn, Sahil Kapur, Geoff Bennett and Haley Talbot write.

The standoff here: “Progressive lawmakers have said they won’t back the Senate-passed infrastructure bill, a top priority for the Democratic leadership, unless the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation package passes first. Moderates, meanwhile, said they won’t support the reconciliation measure unless the bipartisan infrastructure bill passes on Monday as scheduled.”

The real endgame to this stalemate has always been Manchin finally showing his cards about what he can support on reconciliation, given that Democrats need his vote (as well as Sen Kyrsten Sinema’s) in the current 50-50 Senate.

But the other key component was Biden leading his party and trying to find a way out.

Can Biden really afford to see his infrastructure deal go down to defeat next week?

Progressive House Dems are threatening to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure deal that the Senate passed last month — as a way to keep both it and the reconciliation package (which is still TBD) tied together legislatively.

But can Biden afford to see the infrastructure bill go down to defeat in the House? Even if the measure gets another vote whenever the reconciliation stalemate gets resolved?

Here’s what Biden said last month when the infrastructure package cleared the Senate by a 69-30 vote, with 19 Republicans joining all 50 Democratic senators:

“Folks, above all, this historic investment in infrastructure is what I believe you, the American people, want — what you’ve been asking for for a long, long time. This bill shows that we can work together.

“I know a lot of people — some sitting in the audience here — didn’t think this could happen. This bill was declared dead more often than — anyway. That bipartisanship was a thing of the past. From the time I announced my candidacy (inaudible) bringing the country together and doing things in a bipartisan way, it was characterized as a relic of an — an earlier age.

“As you may well remember, I never believed that. I still don’t.

“So, I want to thank those senators who worked so hard to bring this agreement together. I know it wasn’t easy.

“For the Republicans who supported this bill, you showed a lot of courage. And I want to personally thank you for that, and I’ve called most of you on the phone to do just that.

“You have — and no doubt, you will –- disagree with me on many issues. But where we can agree, we should. And here, on this bill, we proved that we can still come together to do big things, important things for the American people.”

Bottom line: Will someone who ran for president touting his deal-making ability (including with the opposition), who delivered an inaugural address on achieving unity, and who routinely emphasizes the power of his word in negotiations really allow his party to defeat this bill?

Even if it’s a temporary defeat?

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Data Download: The numbers you need to know today

$30 million: How much the DSCC is investing in a new field program targeting nine states with the hopes of holding onto their slim majority.

500 million: How many more Pfizer Covid vaccine doses America is buying to donate to the world.

42,455,954: The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 125,672 more since yesterday morning.)

682,653: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 2,360 more since yesterday morning.)

386,780,816: The number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S., per the CDC. (That’s 542,935 more since yesterday morning.)

54.8 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.

66 percent: The share of all U.S. adults at least 18 years of age who are fully vaccinated, per CDC

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