White House says ‘progress’ made on economic agenda despite vote delay

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said late Thursday that “a great deal of progress” had been made in Congress on President Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar economic agenda, despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delaying a vote on the president’s infrastructure bill.

Ms. Psaki, in a statement, expressed confidence that the $1.5 trillion proposal will ultimately make it across the finish line.

“A great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever,” Ms. Psaki said. “But we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.”

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, pulled the bill from ahead of a scheduled floor vote amid a progressive rebellion over failure to reach an agreement on a separate, $3.5 trillion proposal that would expand the social safety net.

The infrastructure vote was delayed after hours of meetings between Democratic leadership and White House officials, including a call between Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Biden.

In her statement, Ms. Psaki acknowledged the pushback from the far-left Democrats but downplayed the division, which threatens to sink the president’s economic agenda.

“While Democrats do have some differences, we share common goals of creating good union jobs, building a clean energy future, cutting taxes for working families and small businesses, helping to give those families breathing room on basic expenses — and doing it without adding to the deficit, by making those at the top pay their fair share,” she said.