President Joe Biden believes the future of his presidency and Democrats’ majorities in Congress will depend on the passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate social spending package.
During a meeting with Democratic lawmakers on Thursday morning, Biden asked them to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill the same day.
And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told her caucus she would like to pass the infrastructure bill before he landed in Rome, Italy, for his second major foreign trip, “When the President gets off that plane we want him to have a vote of confidence from this Congress.”
Biden claimed the framework he announced today will win support from all 50 Democrats needed for the package to pass the chamber.
Finally, he said, “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the House and Senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week.”
Biden also said to Dems: “I am back here to tell you that we have a framework that will get 50 votes in the United States Senate.”
— Laura Barrón-López (@lbarronlopez) October 28, 2021
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the House and Senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week.”
Democrats are hoping to pass a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate $1.75 trillion spending package. However, with slim majorities in both chambers, they have little room for defections.
While the Senate has already passed the infrastructure package, the House has not yet passed either bill, and progressives want commitments from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) that they will support for the spending package before they vote for the infrastructure bill in the House.
On Thursday, the White House announced the framework for the spending package, which was almost $2 trillion less than the originally proposed price tag. Manchin and Sinema have both said they opposed a spending package with a $3.5 trillion price tag.
Despite the lower price tag, neither Manchin nor Sinema explicitly said they would support the package after the framework was released.
Without either of their votes, the bill would fail to pass the chamber.
Additionally, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters he cannot confirm that all 50 senators will vote for the package.