--- title: The Wheels Seem to be Coming Off Democrats’ Infrastructure Plans description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... canonical: https://time.com/5953321/democrats-infrastructure/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-08T17:18:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:50:32.405Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Wheels Seem to be Coming Off Democrats’ Infrastructure Plans og:description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... og:url: https://time.com/5953321/democrats-infrastructure/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8d9057446e4c63b/698a188f096a942a1f6a944a/GettyImages-1232179134.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Biden Administration Pushes Infrastructure Bill Costing Over $2 Trillion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Wheels Seem to be Coming Off Democrats’ Infrastructure Plans twitter:description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8d9057446e4c63b/698a188f096a942a1f6a944a/GettyImages-1232179134.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Wheels Seem to be Coming Off Democrats’ Infrastructure Plans > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=102424a9-7408-44d2-a7ba-41ccffb5171d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=102424a9-7408-44d2-a7ba-41ccffb5171d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=102424a9-7408-44d2-a7ba-41ccffb5171d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 8, 2021 5:18 PM UTC  Construction continues on a new $463 million Nice/Middleton Bridge in Newburg, Maryland, on April 8, 2021. Construction continues on a new $463 million Nice/Middleton Bridge in Newburg, Maryland, on April 8, 2021. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 8, 2021 5:18 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday._ The week began filled with optimism for Democrats’ ambitions. The Senate rules maven said unexpectedly that Democrats could use the procedural [equivalent](https://time.com/5952581/infrastructure-senate-parliamentarian/) of a quadruple jump in Olympic ice skating to steamroll a massive infrastructure bill into law with only Democratic votes. Then West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from the second Trumpiest state in the country, said he wasn’t signing onto the plan as President Joe Biden introduced because it goes too far in hiking the corporate tax rate. The progressive wing of the party pushed for a bigger package than the $2 trillion as introduced. And the top [Republican](https://time.com/5945252/republican-senators-retiring-trump/) in the Senate pretty much [promised](https://time.com/5951965/why-americans-could-be-paying-for-bidens-infrastructure-plan-long-after-the-roads-are-built/) no GOP collaboration or support from across the aisle. So Biden threw the White House’s doors open for “compromise.” Inaction, Biden said yesterday, wasn’t an option. Hours later, Manchin was again causing indigestion for his party, [publishing](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-manchin-filibuster-vote/2021/04/07/cdbd53c6-97da-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78%5Fstory.html) an op-ed in _The Washington Post_ that basically declared he was out if Republicans wouldn’t play ball. And then the 10 Republicans who had flirted with the Biden White House on the COVID-19 package [said](https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/04/07/10-gop-senators-who-met-with-biden-on-covid-relief-balk-at-infrastructure-talks/?sh=55220e2d4f6a) their proposals last time weren’t actually considered and suggested they don’t really feel like repeating that frustration again. By nightfall, the White House was trying to salvage the mess with a [thread](https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1379947097697443842) on Twitter about the underlying plan’s merits. Progressives who have been down this road before stewed. Such a quest for Republican support has time and again proven a false chase in recent years, especially on legacy-making projects like Biden’s first COVID-19 relief [package](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/11/gop-united-opposing-covid-relief-bill-but-what-voters-think/6928921002/) or Barack Obama’s stimulus and health care laws. On the final point, Democrats for months chased Republican support in negotiations. Finally, one of those negotiators said the soft-part aloud when Sen. Mike Enzi [told](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-enzi-gang-of-six-rep%5Fn%5F269447) a Wyoming town hall that he was never going to support what became Obamacare but merely was forcing Democrats to whittle down their ambitions. Still, Republicans successfully introduced 188 changes to the bill, according to a New York _Times_ [analysis](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/21/us/health-care-amendments.html). Put simply, it’s not in Republicans’ interests to give Biden a win here. They ran this [playbook](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/republican-party-obstructionism-victory-trump-214498/) during Obama’s first term. While they weren’t able to stop Obamacare, they did grind D.C. to a slower pace. And voters in the 2010 midterms rewarded the Republicans and their fearmongering about Obamacare with a net pick-up of six Senate seats and a 63-seat swing in the House. It was, in Obama’s own words, a “shellacking.” Building roads and bridges may be harder to demonize than “death panels” and a “government takeover” of healthcare. But it would still be simpler for Democrats to get it done without having to wrangle with their Republican colleagues. So hopes for Biden’s plan for a massive infrastructure investment rose like a rocket Monday when the Senate parliamentarian made her decision. But by mid-day Thursday, its odds grew longer as Biden [faced](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pelosi-house-majority-infrastructure/2021/04/07/be7e74ea-9707-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5%5Fstory.html) at least one-defection-too-many from his fellow Democrats and probably [zero](https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/04/07/yellen-corporate-tax-infrastructure/) interest from opposition Republicans. Still, it’s Washington and we are nothing if not a city that knows patterns. Talks will unfold, where Biden will probably trade away pieces of the bill. Mitch McConnell, for instance, has said he prefers it not to raise taxes, add no red ink and focus solely on hard projects like bridges and roads. Well, those first two are often pretty contradictory goals without deep cuts elsewhere. But Biden will make some creative attempt to meet McConnell in the middle. It’ll undoubtedly enrage his left flank, making even a victory for Democrats taste bitter. And, if history is any guide, the plan will still sway zero Republicans. Which leaves us at this point: Manchin is still in the middle. As we [wrote](https://time.com/5945453/joe-manchin-in-the-middle/) back on March 10, Manchinology might be what drives the possible in Washington, at least for the next two years. And right now, unless there’s a big bipartisan bow around Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, it’s not going to get Manchin’s blessing. At least for now, Republicans aren’t showing up with rolls of ribbon, but progressives might show up with shears. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter._](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/politics?source=dc%5Farticle) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5953321/democrats-infrastructure/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5953321/democrats-infrastructure/"},"headline":"The Wheels Seem to be Coming Off Democrats’ Infrastructure Plans","datePublished":"2021-04-08T17:18:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:50:32.405Z","description":"This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every...","url":"https://time.com/5953321/democrats-infrastructure/","keywords":["The D.C. 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