It took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nearly three months of wrangling the progressive and centrist factions in her caucus, last-minute delaying of votes, two Capitol Hill visits from President Joe Biden, a decoupling of the two halves of Democrats’ “Build Back Better” legislative agenda, and a bill-saving bump from 13 Republicans to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in a late-night vote.

The saga demonstrates what a tenuous hold the speaker has over the House Democratic Caucus as she navigates its razor-thin majority, having only three votes to spare before Republican votes are needed to pass legislation.