Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar voted against a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Friday, after tensions among Democrats continued around the party's efforts on a separate $1.85 trillion spending plan.
Despite the defections of Omar and the other five progressive Democrats called "The Squad," the bipartisan infrastructure package passed the House in a 228-206 vote. Thirteen Republicans voted to back the bill, which now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The vote came at the end of a lengthy day when Democrats tried to come together and make progress on major pieces of Biden's legislative agenda.
"From the beginning, I have been clear that I would not be able to support the infrastructure bill without a vote on the Build Back Better Act," Omar, the whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement that referred to the $1.85 trillion spending plan.
"Passing the infrastructure bill without passing the Build Back Better Act first risks leaving behind child care, paid leave, health care, climate action, housing, education, and a road map to citizenship."
The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed the Senate back in August, with Minnesota's two Democratic senators and 19 Republicans supporting the legislation. In the House on Friday, Minnesota's three other Democratic members supported the bipartisan bill, while the state's four GOP members voted no.
"Today, we made good on our promises to invest in America's highways, roads, bridges and broadband for our rural communities," Democratic Rep. Angie Craig said in a statement. "This bipartisan package will create millions of good paying jobs, help our economic recovery and rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure for future generations."
A fact sheet released in August by the White House detailed the likelihood that Minnesota would see billions from the Republican and Democratic penned legislation including $4.5 billion for highways, $302 million for bridge repairs and replacement and more than $818 million over five years for public transportation.