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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Now that the House is moving forward with the 3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan, Republican support for the $1.2-trillion bipartisan infrastructure package has dwindled.

"If the T&I bill would have been standalone, I absolutely would have been supportive, but the bill changed. I mean, you know, if $1 trillion of $5 trillion is all that I can support, that's a negative weight, said Congressman Dan Meuser, who sits on The Problem Solvers Caucus - involved in negotiating the bill and providing amendments.

He's now a no: "It's the most liberal, big government, expenditure in the history of our country."

All of this is happening against the backdrop of the midterm elections.

"Thus, as we look to both control of the Senate and the House, Pennsylvania is once again an essential battleground," said political scientist Chris Borick, Director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

The move runs the risk of alienating moderates, who are pivotal for Republicans. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy hasn't voiced support one way or the other - yet.

"A lot of infrastructure elements that we're looking at, that are part of the popular discussions, are very popular among the public, including among Republicans," Borick said.

However, the move is also a major risk for moderate Democrats.

"They've been comparing it to the Great Society of the 1960s, but after that round of Great Society legislation, Richard Nixon was elected in a landslide in 1968," said John Kincaid, Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College.

Congresswoman Susan Wild admits tying the bills together is politically risky but feels it's necessary. Without reconciliation, progressives may block it.

"I want to see that bipartisan infrastructure deal voted on quickly, but obviously, we need to make sure we have the votes to pass it," Wild said.

"They're weighing at the end of the day. If they can have some deliverables. Things they can say including moderate Democrats that got done," Borick said.

The package will now move to the Senate, where moderate Democrats, like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virgina and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, are expected to trim things back. That move could ruffle progressives.

"If Nancy Pelosi doesn't tread very carefully here, they could lose both bills," Kincaid said. They know once these are in place its very difficult for them to be removed. So even if it costs them the House in the next election, they will have cemented those programs in place.

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Congress moving forward with budget reconciliation, eroding Republican support and potentially putting both parties at risk in midterms - 69News...