Pelosi’s Biggest Challenge Yet

Punchbowl News: “We all know that Pelosi is a one-woman legislative bulldozer. We’ve seen it. She bulldozed the moderates earlier this year when they threatened to take down the budget resolution. Now she’s going to have to do the same with the progressives.“

“Yet this is also clear — Pelosi is short of the votes she needs to pass the infrastructure bill. We won’t bet against her, no one who knows Pelosi ever would. But she clearly has a lot of ground to make up inside the caucus between now and Thursday.”

“Pelosi is basically asking progressives to trust her that Manchin and Sinema will agree to a package that the broader Democratic Party will back. That’s an awfully big ask. The only insurance policy progressives have is the infrastructure bill. Why would they give that up at this point — especially when they have no true deadline.”

“This might be Pelosi’s legislative challenge yet. It clearly is the most high-profile intra-party fight she’s faced since the passage of Obamacare more than a decade ago. Look for Pelosi to keep up the pressure on progressives during the next couple days, pulling in Biden when she to do so.”