Centrist Democrats go after Pelosi over delayed infrastructure vote: ‘Deeply

Reps. Josh GottheimerJoshua (Josh) GottheimerThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Alibaba – Democrats still at odds over Biden agenda No deal: House delays infrastructure vote 5 reasons why this week’s political war is different from all others MORE (D-N.J.) and Stephanie MurphyStephanie MurphyHouse passes debt ceiling suspension as standoff with GOP deepens House appears poised to pull infrastructure vote amid stubborn stalemate Pelosi: ‘No patience’ for Democratic debt ceiling holdouts MORE (D-Fla.) went after Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiTransportation funding lapses after Pelosi pulls infrastructure vote The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Alibaba – Democrats still at odds over Biden agenda White House says it’s ‘closer to agreement than ever’ after House punts infrastructure vote MORE (D-Calif.) late Friday for not bringing a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package to the floor for a vote this week, despite past assurances made to party moderates demanding as much.

Both lawmakers took aim at Pelosi for again pushing back a vote on the package, which has already passed the Senate, as House progressives have threatened to withhold support for the bill until the chamber passes a multitrillion-dollar social benefits package essential to President BidenJoe BidenFrance (and Britain) should join the Quad Election denialists smacked down by Idaho secretary of state Under Biden, the US could fall further behind in the Arctic MORE’s domestic agenda. 

Gottheimer in a statement called the move “deeply regrettable,” and said Pelosi breached what he called a “firm, public commitment” to congressional members to vote on the bipartisan bill this week after she previously committed to take up the deal in the last week of September.

Pelosi struck the agreement in August after a Gottheimer-led group of moderate Democrats revolted against leadership plans to delay passage of the deal, as she moved to set up a vote on a budget resolution for the larger social spending plan.

“Along with a group of members, I’ve been working around-the-clock to pass the bipartisan bill, legislation we held craft back in April with my senate colleagues,” Gottheimer wrote. “But a small far left faction of the House of Representatives undermined that agreement and blocked a critical vote on the president’s historic bipartisan infrastructure bill.”.

The lawmaker is referring to a group of House progressives that have vowed to vote against the package if the larger social spending plan isn’t passed first, concerned their colleagues will scale back the partisan bill if the physical infrastructure deal is already passed.

In a statement, Murphy, a co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, said she was “profoundly disappointed and disillusioned” after the vote was delayed again, while also knocking what she referred to as a “misguided effort” by some of her colleagues to “gain ‘leverage’ over their fellow Democrats.”

“My position has been clear from day one. I support passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” she said, while also adding she supports passage of the larger social spending plan “that is fiscally…