Crunch Time in Washington

FMR. SEN. HEIDI HEITKAMP (D-ND): I think the last one. I think there’s always this fatalistic, oh, the sky is falling, this is the worst thing that ever happened. You never count Nancy Pelosi out. She’s an amazing negotiator. I think Biden can seal the deal, if everybody comes with a — with the attitude that they need to resolve this, because the Democratic Party agenda long-term is really on the ropes right now. If they aren’t able to deliver, in spite of having the White House, the House and the Senate, it’s going to spell real trouble, I think, in the polls. And so I think everybody understands that. I think, at the end of the day, when the posturing is over, there’s going to be a deal.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Yet the focus right now is on the growing divide between the progressive sect of the party and the moderates. And, Faiz, Pramila Jayapal, she’s the chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, said today that the discussions were going well and that there needed to be more of them, and they needed more concrete numbers and figures. Let me just play a clip for that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Listen, we are going to pass these two things. You all know Capitol Hill. It is a strange place. Things — I have only been here four-and-a-half years. I still find it strange. But things only happen here when there’s urgency and some reason for people to be at the table. We have seen more progress in the last 48 hours than we have seen in a long time on reconciliation, on the Build Back Better Act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So, look, the progressive stood their ground. They said that they would not budge. They wanted a number of figure from the more moderates, from, in particular, Joe Manchin. They got $1.5 trillion. Clearly, they want more out of this. And my question to you, how do progressives explain to the American public that they are what ready to forsake both just for not getting the number that they were looking for?

FAIZ SHAKIR, FORMER BERNIE SANDERS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, we’re the ones delivering on President Biden’s campaign pledges and promises. And the details matter here. So, if we’re talking about child care, you’re talking about universal pre-K, you’re talking about paid leave, you’re talking about reducing prescription drug prices, just talking about delivering for working families, that’s what’s transformational about this. And holding the Democratic Party to those pledges is important, because this is politically beneficial, as Senator Heitkamp was just mentioning, if you go back to voters in a year and say, we delivered for you, we promised and we delivered. That’s what’s at stake here. And I think there’s a real concern that, due to pressures from the corporate world, that there are efforts to cut down on the promises that President Biden made. And I hope that that doesn’t happen here. So you see a progressive party that, quite frankly, represents 95 percent of House Democrats and Senate Democrats trying to hold everyone’s feet to the fire on the pledges that were made. And, frankly, that — because one of the reasons why President Biden won.