The Playbook Podcast

Tuesday was the day it became clear either:A) President Joe Biden's legislative agenda is about to implodeorB) Biden made serious progress toward a deal to salvage his agenda.The public evidence points to option A. By the end of the day, there was no indication Democrats were near a deal that would allow BIF to pass the House on Thursday. But the real action was shrouded in secrecy: the talks between Biden and the two senators who control the fate of his presidency, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. So you can’t rule out option B. Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

The Democrats’ “two-track” process is no more. After weeks of linking passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package (BIF) to the party’s larger reconciliation bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her members Monday night that she’s forging ahead with a stand-alone vote on BIF as the much larger social spending bill is being hashed out.  It’s a reversal by not only Pelosi but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden. Their previous position was that one should not — indeed, cannot — pass without the other.This sets up a major showdown between Pelosi and the Squad, as well as other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal has been saying her members will tank the Thursday vote if the Senate doesn’t pass the larger multitrillion-dollar reconciliation bill first.Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Congress is three days out from a critical vote on a key plank of the president’s agenda — a massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure package (BIF) — and President Joe Biden and House Democratic leaders haven’t even started the whipping process, we’re told from sources across the Democratic spectrum.Our colleagues Natasha Korecki and Laura Barrón-López reported Sunday night that the president was making calls and doing Zoom sessions from Camp David over the weekend on BIF and the larger reconciliation package. But the seeming lack of urgency so far — given the sheer scale of the task and mere days to complete it — is alarming some House Democrats going into a critical week, multiple people involved told us Sunday night.“I don’t understand why the president isn’t whipping his own historic bill,” said one moderate House Democrat.Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Subscribe to Global InsiderGlobal Insider's Ryan Heath runs all over New York, capturing the madness of UNGA’s kickoff, accompanied by his sidekick, producer Olivia Reingold. Hear from Ryan’s go-to “U.N. whisperer,” Richard Gowan of the Crisis Group, and Penny Abeywardena, New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs. Plus: protestors accusing the U.S. of “vaccine apartheid” stop New York City traffic, setting the tone for critics of the Biden administration to come throughout the week.Also: if you have the time, we’re trying to learn more about our listeners. We’d appreciate it if you’re able to take our short survey. Ryan Heath is the host of the "Global Insider" podcast and newsletter. Olivia Reingold produces “Global Insider.” Irene Noguchi edits “Global Insider” and is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio. Richard Gowan is the Crisis Group’s UN director. Penny Abeywardena is New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs. Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  You can subscribe to Ryan’s “Global Insider” newsletter here.

Buckle up. That was the advice from Capitol Hill late Thursday night as news got out that Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told her committee chairs that she does, in fact, intend to bring the reconciliation bill to the floor next week, reports Heather Caygle.The question now: Is it bravura or bravado?And, The Arizona Republic scooped the results of the Maricopa County “audit” paid for by “Stop the Steal” and Donald Trump allies: It found that Trump lost the key county by a wider margin than the official election results. To put a finer point on this: The firm selected by the people promoting the election lie, Cyber Ninjas, did its own count and found that Joe Biden won.Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Here’s the most important development that came from President Joe Biden's five hours of meetings with 23 legislators in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to a senior White House official: “Moderates agreed that they need to coalesce around an offer to the liberals.”It might not sound like much. But given how dug in both sides have been, the White House views the commitment from the Manch-ema wing as “a real breakthrough.”And, the killing of 20-year-old Army soldier Vanessa Guillen, who had told family she was being sexually harassed by several soldiers prior to her disappearance at Fort Hood last year, has galvanized calls to change how the military deals with sexual assault and harassment. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Joni Ernst, a veteran and a sexual assault survivor, have long pushed Congress to act on the issue. Join Playbook's Rachael Bade today at 1 p.m. for a Women Rule virtual joint interview with Ernst and Gillibrand to discuss the state of their proposed legislation and what it will take to curb sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. Register hereTake the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Can the House get to 218 on the BIF?That’s the big question on Capitol Hill after Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear Tuesday her team would not delay a Monday vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, aka the BIF. Here’s what we’re watching as Pelosi’s whipping operation gets underway for what promises to be a close vote.Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Internal Democratic discord has wounded President Joe Biden’s massive social spending plan, raising the prospect that the package could stall out, shrink dramatically — or even fail altogether.Myriad problems have arisen. Moderate Senate Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) continue to be a major headache for party leadership’s $3.5 trillion target. The Senate parliamentarian just nixed the party’s years long push to enact broad immigration reform. House members may tank the prescription drugs overhaul the party has run on for years. And a fight continues to brew over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) push to expand Medicare.And today, Biden interrupts his mission to rescue his agenda in Congress with a mission to rescue his agenda with world leaders.He’ll speak at 10 a.m. before the U.N. General Assembly to an audience far more skeptical about his insistence that “America is back” than they were in the afterglow of Donald Trumps loss, which was (mostly) celebrated around the world. Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

- WaPo’s Arelis Hernández and Nick Miroff report overnight that some 10,000 Haitian migrants have crossed the Rio Grande and congregated under a border bridge in South Texas.- President Joe Biden announced in April that his community college professor wife would lead the administration’s efforts on new education initiatives, including her longtime mission to make two years of community college tuition-free.-  NYT’s Jonathan Martin broke a stunning but perhaps not surprising story last night: Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, is bowing out of what he said would have been a “brutal” reelection primary fight against former Trump aide Max Miller.Take the POLITICO Podcast Listener SurveyRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a deal with about a dozen skeptical House moderates In late August to win their support on the party’s $3.5 trillion budget. If they backed the fiscal blueprint, Pelosi promised two things. One was to hold a vote on the bipartisan, $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by Sept. 27, a sweetener for those members eager to campaign on the policy win.The other promise was less straightforward but no less important: Rather than the House and Senate drafting and voting on separate sweeping reconciliation bills, she agreed to figure out the contours of the social spending package with her Senate counterparts on the front end, ensuring any bill that passes the House would have 51 votes to clear the upper chamber. Now, however, some moderates are increasingly concerned that Pelosi and her team are playing fast and loose with that commitment. They worry that Democratic leaders are charging ahead with their own expansive version of the reconciliation package without getting on the same page with the Senate first — and making them walk the plank in the process. Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook