27 July 2021
A host of new problems emerged Monday morning threatening whether the Group of 10 can actually make this "infrastructure week" after all.
Why it matters: This is the bill's do-or-die moment.
- August recesses in both chambers are here.
- Senators are scheduled to break in two weeks — a deadline sure to be blown after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made clear he wants to pass both a bipartisan bill and a budget resolution before letting members head home.
- Schumer said Monday afternoon he's prepared to keep the Senate in session this weekend to finish the bipartisan infrastructure bill: “It’s time for everyone to get to yes,” he announced on the floor.
Between the lines: It’s still unclear whether this 11th-hour infighting is just run-of-the-mill posturing amid the final negotiations, or actually a danger sign for the bill.
- Two Democratic Senate aides familiar with the talks sent Axios this tweet from Bloomberg's Steve Dennis, which jokes that typical deals in Congress always start with a series of "no's"; then an agreement on a framework; then another string of "no's"; and then a "yes" on a final deal.
- There's merit in Steve's argument — the final stretch of any substantial legislation is always the hardest to complete.
- The bipartisan group is in that cauldron right now.
The big question: At what point does Schumer bail and turn to a catchall, Democrats-only reconciliation bill?
- Axios reporting signals if there isn't at a minimum full text of the bill this week, let alone substantial floor action, then the Democratic leadership is likely to abandon ship and move on.
- That can only happen, though, if Schumer ensures moderate Democratic senators — read: Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — agree with that plan.
- A huge reason Schumer has let the bipartisan talks continue so long is to cater to the two senators, whose votes are crucial to passing a Democrats-only bill in a 50-50 split Senate.
Behind the scenes: On Sunday, members of the group of negotiators were publicly optimistic they were closing in on final text, but behind the scenes, aides to the various senators were taking potshots at each other — anonymously.
- A series of sniping quotes from both sides was circulated to reporters, on background, collectively frustrating members of the group.
- Republicans claimed the Democrats' “global offer” was an unrealistic proposal — some aides went so far as to characterize it as offensive — that reopened talks in areas supposedly settled, including baseline spending, Davis-Bacon, broadband and more.
- Democrats came back and said Republicans weren't negotiating in good faith.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.