Editor’s note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro . President Joe Biden knew it was a risky move, stepping into a labor standoff to avert a rail strike at the height of the holiday season. But as a Dec. 9 work stoppage loomed, the economic risks — not to mention health and safety concerns — outweighed any potential political blowback, the White House said Tuesday. Another worry: A GOP House could impose an even less labor-friendly deal if the dispute drags into next year. Now, Biden is pinning his hopes on Democrats in Congress to resolve the impasse, our Ben White reports : “Biden’s decision to request Congress’ intervention late Monday came after phone calls over recent days with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the trio of aides running point for the White House on the issue, three people familiar with the planning told POLITICO. In the end, they said, Biden figured that the blowback from unions and highly progressive members of Congress would be limited. “‘We hit a spot where even if we could get the parties to agree at a table, the period to ratify would run past the shutdown date’ of Dec. 9, one top Biden aide said of the agonizing decision process. … ‘So it just became impossible to get a deal agreed to and ratified before the key date.’” A different route — Ben writes that Biden opposed using Congress’ authority to force labor deals on railroad workers when he was a senator and resisted that route for months this time around. “But with fertilizer companies making plans to stop shipments and rising threats to the movement of products needed for clean drinking water, Biden decided time was up. “And the last thing the president or White House wanted was a crippling strike stopping the movement of around 40 percent worth of freight … Any such disruption could also add further upward pressure on inflation, which is still running at 40-year highs after massive government stimulus during the Covid-19 pandemic and amidst a big gap in heavy consumer demand and limited supplies of both available workers and materials used for finished products.” What’s next? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress needs to act soon, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she plans to hold a vote on a bill on the House floor today, our Alex Daugherty, Garrett Downs and Tanya Snyder report. But it will be much more complicated in the Senate, where opponents from both parties have threatened to slow the action, saying it gives short shrift to rail workers who have been demanding sick leave, which was left out of the deal, they wrote. IT’S WEDNESDAY — The U.S.A. lads have done it, and we aged 10 years during that stoppage time. Have tips, story ideas, feedback or calming strategies to share before Saturday’s match? You know what to do: kdavidson@politico.com and ssutton@politico.com .
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