The day after the fragile passage of President Biden's infrastructure bill, House leaders were already working on Part Deux: passing the bigger social-safety-net bill two weeks from now — the week before Thanksgiving.
The intrigue: I'm told lawmakers are angling for invitations to the infrastructure signing ceremony even before the date has been announced — each making the case for why they were a vital part of closing the deal.
- Biden wants to sign the bill as soon as possible. But the House is out this week, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to lead a delegation to the climate summit in Scotland.
- Biden said Saturday that he'll include Republicans: "Vice President Harris and I look forward to having a formal signing ceremony for this bipartisan infrastructure soon. ... I'm not doing it this weekend because I want people who worked so hard to get this done — Democrats and Republicans — to be here when we sign it."
Taking questions yesterday, Biden promised Americans will see the infrastructure bill's effects "probably starting within the next two to three months."
