Pelosi pledges Friday infrastructure vote as Biden's agenda hangs in the balance

“We’re talking about multi-trillion-dollar bill, and it would be outrageous to think that somehow at 11 o’clock, or 1 o’clock in the morning, somebody is going to quote-unquote ‘reach an agreement’ that nobody in the House knows anything about, nobody in the Senate knows anything about,” Sanders said after emerging from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) office.

Pelosi pledged the delay would be short.

“There will be a vote today,” she told reporters as she left the Capitol shortly after midnight. 

A vote Friday would extend by one more day the deadline under which Democrats have been working since August, when Pelosi pledged to bring infrastructure bill up for a vote by Sept. 27 under pressure from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and other moderate-leaning Democrats.

Dozens of progressives have refused to vote for the infrastructure bill until lawmakers pass a much larger reconciliation bill. But that legislation remains unfinished, with progressives pushing for much more spending than Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have been willing to accept.

The White House was confident last night, but the delay was a “major setback for the president's economic agenda,” report our Tony Romm, Marianna Sotomayor, Mike DeBonis and Seung Min Kim.

“Pelosi had spent the day huddling with Democrats’ warring factions in private meetings, while the White House labored to work with Sinema and Manchin on a spending deal they could support. But the flurry of outreach, sometimes from Biden personally, failed to bring the two camps together — generating acrimony among Democrats’ own ranks.”

The Manchin factor

And it came after Manchin, who's been a major obstacle for leadership in getting to yes, publicly laid down his marker by saying he wouldn't support a reconciliation package bigger than $1.5 trillion.

“We’re in good-faith negotiations, we’ll continue in good-faith negotiations,” Manchin stressed to reporters as he left the Capitol, report our colleagues.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday night “we are closer to an agreement than ever” but “will need some additional time to finish the work.” 

And Gottheimer — who said on CNN earlier in the day that he was “1,000 percent” confident the infrastructure bill would pass Thursday — put a brave face on the delay:

But Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the progressives insisting on a reconciliation deal before an infrastructure vote, took a victory lap at her colleague's expense:

On K Street

Susan Molinari still considers herself a Republican

Eleven Questions for … Susan Molinari: Welcome to the third edition of our weekly interview feature in which we talk to lawmakers, lobbyists, administration officials and other Washington types.

We asked the lobbyist and former New York congresswoman whether she still considers herself a Republican, how she thinks the Biden presidency is going and where she heads for Italian food in Washington. (Answers have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.)

The Early: In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?

Molinari: My workdays are filled with Zoom calls, working remotely and juggling life. I’m fortunate enough to have many clients that allow me to pursue my passions. 

The Early: Finish this sentence: The worst thing about Washington is _______.

Molinari: I really love Washington, D.C. — the people that come from all over the world and the country. Despite some hiccups in government, I still get excited to see the U.S. Capitol. The worst thing … traffic.  

The Early: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Molinari: A solid seven hours.  

The Early: What was the last book you finished? (Be honest!) And what are you reading now?

Molinari: Clarissa Ward’s book, “On All Fronts,” is the last book I finished. I’m in awe of her and the work she’s so bravely done.

I’m reading “What Is Life Worth” by Ken Feinberg. His journey heading up the 9/11 compensation fund for the victims’ families is a testament to his character. Many of the victims came from Staten Island where I grew up, so I followed his work very closely. Frankly, Ken Feinberg is one of the finest people I’ve ever known.

The Early: You spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year in support of President Biden, whose agenda is facing a “precarious” moment right now, as White House press secretary Jen Psaki put it this week. How do you think his presidency is going?

Molinari: This time in the first term of a president is always challenging. With very tight majorities in both the House and Senate, it isn’t easy for the Democrats or the president. But they have an ambitious agenda, probably one of the most ambitious of any administration since LBJ. I’m grateful that President Biden has worked so effectively to confront the covid pandemic. 

The Early: You warned in January that the Republican Party is at risk of becoming a “fringe party, [a] party that we won’t recognize in the next three to four years unless some aggressive leadership steps forward.” Have you seen that leadership over the past eight months?

Molinari: This country depends on a strong two-party system to keep everyone in check. So I’m hopeful that we can get back to a conversation in Washington that confronts the existential issues before our country.  

The Early: Do you still consider yourself a Republican? 

Molinari: I do.  

The Early: Describe your Sunday routine.

Molinari: All week long, I look forward to the New York Times crossword puzzle and book section with a cup of coffee in hand. I grew up competing with my dad over who could complete the crossword first.

The Early: Who is your closest friend on the other side of the aisle?

Molinari: When my father passed away, the first two people to reach out were Speaker Pelosi and Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro [(D-Conn.)]. They were also women with strong Italian fathers, and there is something unique and powerful in that relationship, which I’m sure they understand as well.  And I, of course, think the world of Lucy Calautti, who is the incredible new co-chair of the American Italian Food Coalition, and her husband, Kent Conrad [the former Democratic senator from North Dakota].  

The Early: You spent years as Google’s top lobbyist in Washington. How different is representing pasta and biscotti producers?

Molinari: Joining the American Italian Food Coalition was easy because, as a proud Italian American, I feel passionately about the bonds between the United States and Italy. It isn’t that working for Google wasn’t an incredible experience — it absolutely was — but I’m in a space in my life where I’m fortunate to be able to work on things that matter to me. And let’s be honest, raising the profile not only of Italy as a key American partner, but pasta, espresso and Italian chocolate as well, who wouldn’t jump at that opportunity?

The Early: Where’s the best Italian spot in Washington? A. Litteri? Mangialardo’s? Elsewhere?

Molinari: Washington has experienced a real sea change in terms of quality Italian food and restaurants. Those two are wonderful, as are all of Fabio Trabocchi’s restaurants [and] Café Milano and Tosca.

At the White House

What Biden's aides are reading: White House chief of staff Ron Klain, senior adviser Neera Tanden and Psaki all tweeted out on Thursday evening the Times columnist David Brooks' new piece making the case for Biden's domestic agenda. The headline: “This Is Why We Need to Spend $4 Trillion.”

Klain tweeted the column three times in two hours (including a retweet of Psaki's tweet). “David Brooks nails it,” Tanden tweeted.

The campaign

‘My concern is that [DeSantis] is going to win again,’ said one Florida Democrat

Democrats struggle to gain traction in Florida: “To Kelly Smith, the case against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is strong,” our colleague Tim Craig writes. “More than 50,000 Floridians killed by covid-19. A confrontational opposition to mask mandates and vaccines that has rubbed even some Republicans the wrong way.” 

• “But the Pasco County Democratic Party head is skeptical that Florida Democrats can capitalize on it to topple DeSantis (R) next November.”
• “My concern is [DeSantis] is going to win again, simply because people know his name and we haven’t been able to connect how his policies and executive orders impact them,” Smith said.

The Media

Weekend Reeeads: 

• Federal judge takes up Biden administration request to block Texas abortion law. By The Post's Ann E. Marimow,
• Biden campaigned as the anti-Trump. But a clean break is never easy. By the New York Times’s Annie Karni.
• DHS issues new arrest and deportation guidelines to immigration agents. By The Post’s Maria Sacchetti.
• Senate confirms Tracy Stone-Manning as Bureau of Land Management director in party-line vote. By The Post’s Joshua Partlow.
• Alito defends letting Texas abortion law take effect, says Supreme Court critics want to intimidate justices. By The Post’s Robert Barnes and Mike Berardino.
• WHO employees took part in Congo sex abuse during Ebola crisis, report says. By Reuters’s Emma Farge and Hereward Holland.
• Britney Spears, Carrie Buck and the awful history of controlling ‘unfit’ women. By The Post’s Gillian Brockell.
• R. Kelly has been convicted of sex crimes against Black women. Why did it take nearly 30 years? By the 19th*’s Candice Norwood.

Viral

A tense relation-ship: 

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