A House divided

Nancy Pelosi is losing patience with her moderates; Biden is getting hammered politically over the Afghanistan withdrawal. Nancy Pelosi is losing patience with her moderates; Biden faces backlash over the Afghanistan withdrawal. Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum. TOP NEWS Pelosi stands with progressives Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is proposing a rule that would both the Democrats’ budget resolution and the bipartisan infrastructure bill procedurally, keeping their fates tied but hoping to appease moderates who want to pass the infrastructure bill first. [[The Wall Street Journal / Eliza Collins and Kristina Peterson](] - Nine House moderates, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), have said they will consider opposing the budget resolution — which would sink it — until the infrastructure bill has been signed into law. [[Roll Call / Jennifer Shutt](] - Meanwhile, dozens of lawmakers in the Congressional Progressive Caucus say they will vote down the infrastructure bill without a budget bill that tackles their priorities in place and has guaranteed passage. [[The New York Times / Jonathan Weisman](] - Pelosi’s proposed rule would only advance, not pass, the infrastructure bill, as well as advance the budget resolution and a voting rights resolution. She believes enough of the moderates will flip, especially given that they are being celebrated at a Pelosi fundraiser event. [[Politico / Olivia Beavers and Nicholas Wu](] - But thus far, they haven't. Pelosi is essentially calling their bluff, daring them to vote against a popular bill that contains key Democratic priorities like universal prekindergarten and addressing climate change. [[NBC News / Sahil Kapur](] - The group of moderates remains relatively small, though big enough to derail the vote. Key members of the moderate Problem Solvers’ Caucus have not joined the group. [[The Washington Monthly / David Atkins](] - Some of the moderates’ demands may also have to do with the interests of protecting the wealthy in their districts. Gottheimer, for example, is concerned about the tax hikes on the wealthy and the end of a tax deduction for upper-middle class families. [[Intelligencer / Jonathan Chait](]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( As Taliban come into power, Biden faces criticism - In a speech addressing the crisis in Afghanistan on Monday, a defiant President Joe Biden blamed the Afghan government for refusing to fight the Taliban and defended the withdrawal. [[The Associated Press / Jonathan Lemire](] - But questions remain over how US intelligence misjudged the situation and why the evacuation of allies has fallen drastically short. [[CNN / Natasha Bertand, Kylie Atwood, Oren Liebermann, and Nicole Gaouette](] - Biden framed his options as either agreeing to the terms of the withdrawal that former President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban, or staying and being prepared to fight them once again. [[NBC News / Jonathan Allen](] - On the Republican side, the GOP has predictably slammed Biden over the withdrawal, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) even raising the possibility of using the 25th amendment to remove Biden from office. [[Politico / Marianne Levine](] - Democrats such as Senate Intelligence Chair Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) have vowed to investigate US intelligence failures. And other Democrats have pleaded with Biden to keep the Kabul airport open and to quicken the pace of processing special immigrant visas. [[The Hill / Jordain Carney](] - The Defense Department is now sending an increased deployment — bringing the total ground presence to 6,000 troops — to facilitate evacuations and departures from Kabul International Airport. [[USA Today / Deirdre Shesgreen and Tom Vanden Brook]]( - The Taliban have announced a policy of amnesty for Afghans and encouraged women to join their government, though they say women’s rights will be honored within the context of Islamic law. The announcement may be aimed at ensuring continued foreign aid. [[The Associated Press / Ahmad Seir, Tameem Akhgar, Kathy Gannon, and Jon Gambrell](] MISCELLANEOUS Polling in California’s governor recall election shows a close race, with Gov. Gavin Newsom hovering near 50 percent support and turnout expected to be high among Republicans. [[SFGate / Eric Ting](] - New Zealand has shut down much of the country after a single case of the coronavirus was discovered, in the first outbreak since February. [[The Associated Press / Nick Perry](] - The Biden administration is expected to recommend that most vaccine recipients get booster shots eight months after their immunization was completed. [[Intelligencer / Benjamin Hart](] Support our journalism Reader contributions help keep Vox and newsletters like Sentences free for all. Support our work from as little as $3. [Give $3]( VERBATIM “It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not. How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war? I will not repeat the mistakes we made in the past.” [[President Joe Biden, on his decision to withdraw the US military from Afghanistan](] LISTEN TO THIS [Tesla is in trouble with the US Government]( Tesla is in trouble. The US government is investigating Autopilot, a feature that Elon Musk says could turn Teslas into fully self-driving cars. What does this inquiry mean for the company? [[Spotify / Andrew Hawkins](] Read more from Vox [Biden had a chance to save allies in Afghanistan. He wasted it.]( [Astronomers were skeptical about dark matter -- until Vera Rubin came along]( [Who are the Taliban now?]( [A Trump judge ordered Biden to reinstate one of Trump’s cruelest immigration policies]( [Bama Rush TikTok, explained and explained and explained](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 11, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.