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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called House Democrats to meet as infighting between progressives and moderates threaten to derail their $4.1 trillion economic agenda.

At issue is Pelosi’s insistence that the $550 billion infrastructure bill be paired with a $3.5 trillion budget resolution – a move which moderates such as Joe Manchin (D-WV) have opposed, and are instead insisting that the infrastructure bill be passed immediately – separate from the budget resolution.

House progressives, meanwhile, have sided with Pelosi’s ‘two-track’ approach of passing both packages at the same time, according to Bloomberg.

“We must not squander our Congressional Democratic Majorities and jeopardize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to create historic change to meet the needs of working families,” Pelosi wrote on Monday in an open letter to fellow House Democrats.

The House is set to take a procedural vote Monday night on rules for debate on three measures: the budget resolution that sets up work on a Democrats-only package of social spending and tax increases; the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate; and a separate voting-rights measure.

Pelosi’s plan then would have the House adopt the budget resolution and pass the voting-rights legislation on Tuesday, but leave the infrastructure bill until the Senate completes the $3.5 trillion spending package outlined by the resolution later in the year. –Bloomberg

Moderate Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ) are not happy. In an Aug. 12 letter, the group threatened to withhold support for the budget resolution until the infrastructure bill was passed and sent to President Biden for his signature.

On Monday, Gottheimer indicated that House Democrats could reach a deal paving the way for House passage of the infrastructure bill this week. 

“I think we’ll figure it out because everyone recognizes we’ve got to get infrastructure done,” Gottheimer said on CNBC. 

Pelosi has called a previously unscheduled closed-door meeting with House Democrats at 5:30 p.m., just before the chamber was set to vote on the rules for debate.

While there is some GOP support for the infrastructure legislation, which easily passed the Senate on Aug. 10, House Republicans are expected to vote en masse against the budget resolution. With a 220 to 212 majority, Pelosi can afford no more than three Democratic defections. -Bloomberg

Manchin, meanwhile, said in a statement that the House needs to pass the infrastructure legislation now, adding that “It would send a terrible message to the American people if this bipartisan bill is held hostage.”

Pelosi, meanwhile, is a broken record.

“Any delay to passing the budget resolution threatens the timetable for delivering the historic progress and the transformative vision that Democrats share,” wrote Pelosi in her letter – setting a deadline to pass both pieces of legislation by Oct. 1.

Last week, Biden and House Democratic leaders held a virtual meeting to discuss their strategy for moving forward with ‘his’ agenda, while the White House on Saturday released a statement backing Pelosi’s two-track plan.