Progressive Democrat says bipartisan infrastructure vote on Monday would fail: ‘The votes aren’t there’

CNN

By Devan Cole and Kevin Liptak, CNN

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said Sunday that she doubts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will carry through on her plans to hold a vote Monday on a bipartisan infrastructure bill, saying there simply aren’t enough votes for the party to pass the proposal right now.

“The speaker is an incredibly good vote counter, and she knows exactly where her caucus stands and we’ve been really clear on that,” Jayapal told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked about the planned vote. “The votes aren’t there. I don’t think she’s going to bring it up.”

Jayapal, the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has said for days that her members will not vote for the $1 trillion bill without passing the $3.5 trillion package that is aimed at enacting President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. But her comments Sunday are the clearest sign yet that progressive House members intend to carry through on their threat hours before the planned vote.

Pelosi acknowledged Sunday a planned vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package may slip past Monday as she and her fellow Democratic leaders work to wrangle their party behind President Biden’s sweeping economic plan.

“We’ll bring the bill forward tomorrow for consideration, but, you know, I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes,” Pelosi said on ABC’s “This Week,” a concession the $1 trillion public works plan may not be voted upon by the September 27 deadline she committed to last month.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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