Inside the Squad's frustration with the Congressional Progressive Caucus

By Jacqueline Alemany, Theodoric Meyer and Marianna Sotomayor @ WashingtonPost.com, Nov. 9

[....] We learned new details about the emerging rift and about why some of the Squad's members — who include Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) — decided to vote “no.” Their continued unhappiness could cause future headaches for leadership (AOC wasn't subtle) and complicate current negotiations over Build Back Better (BBB).

Among the Squad's grievances is the fact its members were not invited to speak directly with Biden throughout the infrastructure negotiation process, said three Democratic staffers familiar with the process and a Democratic lawmaker. 

Squad members were also dismayed they did not get to review the final statement issued by CPC Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on Friday night stating her caucus agreed to support the infrastructure package and the House rule advancing Democrats' larger health care, child care and climate change package, according to one of the Democratic aides and a Democratic operative familiar with negotiations.

Some Squad members asked that the statement not be sent from the CPC, according to two Democratic aides familiar with the conversations, arguing it didn't reflect the entire caucus's viewpoint. One of the aides, however, pointed out that statements rarely reflect the beliefs of every caucus member. 

Jayapal also made the case for CPC leadership, which includes Omar (who serves as the caucus’s whip), to support the infrastructure package after striking the deal to pass the BBB rule with signed statements from moderate Democrats, according to a Democratic lawmaker and a Democratic aide familiar with the meeting. 

“Imagine if [Rep. Josh] Gottheimer [(D-N.J.)], who is a leader for the moderates, didn't sign that — it's just bad optics,” said a Democratic aide. “But [Jayapal] nor anyone else ever said you have to vote.” 

Breakaway caucus?

We also heard chatter of a “breakaway caucus,” from people with knowledge of the tensions, in which the most progressive members would leave the CPC and form their own unit. But it's unclear whether those discussions are simply banter or more serious than that. There are, however, serious concerns about some of Pelosi's top lieutenants and confidantes forming a part of CPC leadership. There were CPC members “who are also whipping against the CPC. And during negotiations they were undermining CPC positions by shuttling [them] back to Pelosi,” the aide added. 

The CPC adopted new rules at the beginning of the year to get members to vote as a bloc more frequently, including taking an official position when two-thirds of the CPC favors it. 

“The way [Friday] went down reopened the sense that they could be their own caucus,” said a Democratic lawmaker in the CPC, referring to the Squad. “They probably would have made a difference in negotiations, as they were excluded from all of the meetings with the president.” 

In an interview on Sunday, Bowman only had praise for how Jayapal handled the infrastructure vote.

“I'm in awe of her,” Bowman said, adding she was “the perfect leader” for the caucus.

Friday “was a tough day. It was a day where no one expected the six defectors to do what they did,” Bowman added, referring to the moderate Democrats who refused to vote for the reconciliation bill without a Congressional Budget Office score. “They put everyone on the ropes and we came out with the best result.”

on CBO on BBB; problems with Defense bill