David Dayen: Pelosi is pursuing ‘path of least resistance’ with legislative maneuvers

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pursuing what she believes to be the “path of least resistance” in order to secure a legacy-defining passage of legislation, American Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen told Hill.TV.

Dayen discussed the challenge Pelosi faces in getting both moderates and progressives in her caucus to support two key pieces of legislation to advance President Biden’s agenda.

“For Pelosi, it comes down to the numbers, as it typically does,” Dayen said on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

“There are nine or maybe 10 conservative Democrats on one side, and there are much more than 10 progressives on the other side saying, ‘We’re not going to pass the bipartisan bill without a reconciliation bill first,'” Dayen added.

Pelosi is able to “count to 218” and has decided that it will be better to “bulldoze” through the handful of moderate Democrats, he went on to say.

Next year’s midterm elections, Dayen argued, make it all the more important for Democrats to secure legislative victories now.

“It’s very unlikely that Democrats keep the House next year, I mean if if we’re all being honest with the way that redistricting is going, the way that midterms typically go,” Dayen said. “And if you want to have a career-defining set of agenda items, this is the train that’s leaving the station.”