House Democrats to begin voting on trillion-dollar spending bill before weekend

The Democrat-controlled House could vote Thursday on each of President Biden's two spending bills – totaling roughly $3 trillion – amid more urging from the president and in the aftermath of this week's disappointing election results. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Wednesday night that the bills could get a final floor vote as early as Thursday, according to Politico. The House’s No. 2 Democrat made a similar comment last week.

However, voting could be pushed until Friday, aides and lawmakers told the Associated Press.

The bills are a roughly $1.85 trillion package to pay for social programs and climate change initiatives and a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure that has already passed in the Senate.

Biden and other Democrats had hoped at least one of the measures would have passed last week before the president embarked last week on his overseas trip that included talks with other world leaders and to energize their voters ahead of Tuesday’s elections, in which Republican Glenn Youngkin ultimately defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race.

With a flurry of late-breaking adjustments, Democrats added key provisions to the larger bill, including a new paid family leave program, work permits for immigrants and changes to state and local tax deductions, the wire service also reports.

"Get it to my desk," Biden said Wednesday at the White House.

The House Rules Committee convened late Wednesday to consider the updated text to the bill – a crucial step before an expected lengthy floor debate that could start Thursday and spill into the weekend.

Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have been their party's biggest holdouts along the negotiating process amid progressives' effort to pass the big spending bills.