White House officials told House Democrats Tuesday to get ready to go it alone on infrastructure if bipartisan talks founder, setting the stage for party leaders to tap an obscure budget procedure to move President Biden‘s top domestic priority without Republican support.
Huddling in person in the Capitol for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis hit, members of the House Democratic Caucus were briefed by Steve Ricchetti, a top adviser to Biden, and Shalanda Young, the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, who said they would give Senate negotiators seven to 10 days to reach a bipartisan agreement, according to Democrats in the meeting.
If no deal is reached in that time, the officials said, Democrats will gauge the progress of those talks and charge ahead with a partisan package if need be. Continue reading.