Congressional Democrats remain divided between centrists and lawmakers on the far Left about whether to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill as they scramble to negotiate the size and content of a sweeping budget reconciliation social spending bill.
The dynamic and uncertainty have Republicans repeating a popular refrain: The Democrats are in disarray.
House Democrats, on the other hand, hate the “disarray” descriptor.
“The whole ‘Democrats in disarray’ narrative is such a phony, silly narrative,” New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters after a conference meeting on Friday. “Democrats are a coalition. We are not a cult.”
“If you want to write a story about Democrats in disarray, that is not the story,” Illinois Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky told reporters.
CIVIL WAR AMONG DEMOCRATS LEAVES INFRASTRUCTURE BILL IN LIMBO DESPITE LEADERS’ PUBLIC OPTIMISM
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to project optimism, telling reporters that last-minute dealing is “the fun part” of negotiations.
Webster’s Dictionary defines disarray as “a lack of order or sequence.” With members leaving caucus meetings unsure of when or if a vote on the infrastructure bill will happen on Friday, or whether work will extend into the weekend, they do appear to have both.
This comes after Democratic leaders delayed a late-night vote on the infrastructure bill late Thursday night, signaling the vote will happen Friday. But, no vote has been scheduled. President Joe Biden will meet with House Democrats in a second Friday caucus meeting, likely to advocate for his “Build Back Better” legislative agenda encompassing both bills.
In fact, it is not even technically the first day of October in the House. After Pelosi delayed a Thursday vote on the infrastructure bill, she kept the House in recess rather than adjourning — meaning it’s still the Sep. 30 legislative day on the House floor.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who is supposed to count and lobby members for votes on bills that leadership wants to prioritize for passage, has repeatedly told reporters this week he does not know when a vote on the infrastructure bill will occur and that he has not started to whip the vote.
Democrats are also peeved at each other for leaking news from inside their closed caucus meeting to reporters, who tweeted out a play-by-play.
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“Far more unity than ‘disarray’ among House Democrats right now, though our caucus meeting today was a master class in eloquent ambiguity,” California Rep. Jared Huffman tweeted. “That’s necessary in part because one of our members is live-leaking to @JakeSherman [of Punchbowl News] because they apparently like the disarray narrative.”
Far more unity than “disarray” among House Democrats right now, though our caucus meeting today was a master class in eloquent ambiguity. That’s necessary in part because one of our members is live-leaking to @JakeSherman because they apparently like the disarray narrative.
— Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) October 1, 2021
In a second caucus meeting Thursday afternoon, members will be asked to put their phones in a cubby holder in an apparent attempt to prevent more leaks.
These are cell phone cubbies. They are set up in the hallway just outside of where the Dem Caucus meets.
They were brought here after complaints that news of caucus meeting keeps getting leaked out. pic.twitter.com/PkX3MkfAzy— Kristin Wilson (@kristin__wilson) October 1, 2021
