A BIPARTISAN, BIDEN-BACKED BREAKTHROUGH — The president’s endorsement of a bipartisan outline marked a critical step, after weeks of maneuvering over the next pair of spending packages. But there’s still plenty that will need to fall into place before Congress clinches an infrastructure deal, POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine, Burgess Everett and Natasha Korecki report — and a second party-line bill that could include any of a range of health care provisions could take even longer. The initial framework would set aside $600 billion in new spending for traditional infrastructure projects. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has already endorsed the deal, and Biden on Thursday vowed to “fight like the devil” to get it passed. Still, there are plenty of caveats — and no clear path so far to 60 votes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to back the framework, and it remains unclear whether Democrats can peel off all the necessary GOP votes. Among Democrats, meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has already signaled there could be difficulties keeping the party together on the legislation, given that this offer is far smaller than what Biden originally sought. That Democratic support is likely to hinge on whether Biden can also advance a second, larger package stuffed with key policies that extend beyond traditional infrastructure — and, as progressives have insisted, passed along party lines. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi committed to pursuing that balancing act, declaring there wouldn’t be an infrastructure bill without a “reconciliation bill.” But the White House and congressional negotiators still face the tough task of fleshing out not just one, but two massive spending packages in the coming weeks. BIDEN SCRAPS MORE MEDICAID WORK RULES — The administration is revoking Indiana and Arizona’s permission to impose Medicaid work requirements, in Biden’s latest move to unravel one of the most significant Trump-era health policies, POLITICO’s Rachel Roubein reports. The notices quietly posted by CMS on Thursday conclude that the work rules “are not likely to promote the objectives” of the Medicaid program, with Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure writing that the agency has grave concerns that, left intact, they would strip many people of their coverage. “Losing health care coverage undoubtedly has negative consequences for affected beneficiaries down the road,” she wrote in a letter to Arizona officials. Neither state had imposed the work rules as of yet, and both states’ rules were subject to legal challenges. And even as Indiana earlier this year defended the requirements, it promised not to implement them during the pandemic. But CMS has put several states’ work requirements under review, in what is widely expected to be a rollback of the policy across the country. Health officials have still yet to weigh in on similar policies in GOP strongholds such as Ohio, South Carolina and Utah. | 
