NBC News’ “Meet The Press” panel said Sunday the left wing of the Democratic party made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “blink” on the infrastructure bill.
“What you’re seeing is the fact that is a general piece of legislation… Pelosi called it the culmination of her career. She said everything she’s been building up for 30 years in public office, more than that, is in this legislation,” NBC’s Jake Sherman said.
Host Chuck Todd then noted that the left-wing members managed to force Pelosi into a rare compromise, seemingly referring to her Saturday decision to extend the deadline for the House’s vote bill to Oct. 31.
The speaker of the House made this call amid a stalemate between the moderates like Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and more left-wing Democrats, who cannot agree on the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.
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“They made her blink. When you go back to the Affordable Care Act, a comparable big victory, the last victory where she faced seemingly really difficult odds, the liberals, the progressives blinked on things like the public option. They didn’t blink this time,” USA Today’s Susan Page said.
Page added that the left-wing Democrats got an upper hand this time around due to them having grown larger in number and being willing to risk getting nothing rather than “half a loaf.” (RELATED: The Left Thinks Congress Is Theirs, But Moderates Keep Dealing Them Setbacks)
“Let’s not forget that the bill the progressives are pushing for is Biden’s bill. It’s his domestic agenda,” Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said, explaining the change in the political landscape. “It’s not as if it’s some wild-eyed far left socialist piece of legislation.”