WASHINGTON — House Democrats voted Tuesday to move forward with President Joe Biden’s top legislative priorities after resolving a standoff between leadership and centrist rebels, who threatened to block the multitrillion-dollar safety net expansion.
The House voted 220 to 212 to pass the “rule” and instruct committees to write the $3.5 trillion bill, which can pass both chambers without any Republican support. To placate the centrist Democratic holdouts, Speaker Nancy Pelosi committed to a Sept. 27 deadline to vote on the $550 billion Senate-passed infrastructure bill.
Every Democrat voted for the measure, and all Republicans opposed it.
Although the procedural vote was a win for Biden, the last-minute clash provided a glimpse into the challenges that await Democrats as they aim to write a sprawling spending bill and pass it with wafer-thin majorities in both chambers. They have three votes to spare in the House and none in the…
