When Mr. Biden hung up, Representative Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat and a member of the leadership, reached out to Ms. Murphy and moderate lawmakers to discuss the details of the statement. He soon went to Ms. Murphy’s office with a few colleagues, including California Representative Jimmy Gomez, who had previously been bugged by Ms. Pelosi for negotiations; Representative Mondaire Jones from New York, a freshman; and mr. Pocan, a former head of the Progressive Caucus who once accused some moderates of child abuse during a heated debate over border aid.
After weeks of polarized meetings where moderates and progressives were received separately in the White House, it was one of the few times the factions met. Lawmakers bent over a laptop in Mrs. Murphy’s office to edit what would eventually be a 123-word statement, discussing semantics, down to the tiniest differences between terms like “vote for” and “support.” They squabbled over whether or not to set a specific date for a vote to reassure progressives that the social policy bill would not be delayed for long, and came to a conclusion the week of November 15.
“We pretend we’re enemies and we’re not — we should have talked to each other a long time ago,” said New York Representative Kathleen Rice, a New York Democrat and close friend of Ms. Murphy. “It came to both of us to say that.”
Ms. Pelosi, who had put her personal reputation on the line in the passing of both laws, watched conversations from afar, filling lawmakers’ voice mailboxes with stern messages urging them to get behind the infrastructure bill. and updates from loyalists as they ducked in and out of private gatherings.
Shuttle diplomacy became more urgent as the day progressed. At one point, Representative Sara Jacobs, a freshman Democrat from California, took off her shoes to run through the marble hallways, relaying messages between leaders and representatives gathered in the Longworth House Office Building across the street. . And in the end, the joint statement — issued by personal Twitter accounts — was enough to garner the votes needed to pass the infrastructure bill the next morning, and the social policy measure before Thanksgiving.
For the lawmakers who helped broker the deal — some of whom are widely seen as likely candidates to lead the party in years to come — it was a confirmation of their ability to bridge internal divisions, and a reminder that sometimes the best solutions from the bottom above.
“In the future,” said Mrs. Rice, “it will be difficult for full members not to be heard.”
Catie Edmondson reporting contributed.
