Internal
divisions among the US House Democrats with regard to the budget framework have
thrown President Joe Biden’s sweeping $3.5 trillion economic package into
jeopardy. The impasse forced the House leadership to continue negotiations well
into the evening on Monday which came to a boiling point with heated debates,
but shortly after midnight, members informed that no further votes were
expected in the house for the night. The Democrats will return to the Capitol
on Tuesday morning to discuss the budget further.

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During
Monday’s discussions, several Democrat leaders grew visibly angry when House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that lawmakers should not “squander” the opportunity
to pass these bills with their majority in the house, reports CNN. When Nancy Pelosi
walked out of the House on Monday evening she told reporters, “We’ll see
tomorrow, won’t we now,” when she was asked about the rule that would be coming
to the floor.

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One of the
contentious aspects of getting the $3.5 trillion economic package passed is
that a group of moderates within the Democratic Party has demanded that there
is first a vote on a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. This
is complicating the Democratic leadership’s effort to quickly approve the budget
resolution.

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The $3.5
trillion budget resolution will allow the Democratic Party to pass legislation
that could significantly expand the social security net. However, not everyone
within the party seems convinced that this is the right course. The demand for
the moderates to first discuss the bipartisan bill comes despite Speaker Nancy
Pelosi’s months-long claim that the House won’t take up the bipartisan bill
until the Senate passes the economic package.

Progressives
within the Democratic Party have made it clear that they won’t support the
infrastructure bill on its own without the bigger economic package that is intended
to expand the social security net. In a bid to find common ground, Nancy Pelosi
has promised the moderate group that the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal
would get a vote in the house by October 1.