Are progressives the bloc of ‘no’? They say no.

At the start of this crucial week for Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Ilhan Omar walked out of the House of Representatives with arms wrapped around each other, looking more like longtime pals than politicians engaged in a high-stakes negotiation. 

It’s a scene that would have been hard to imagine not long ago, when the speaker issued a rare public rebuke of the Minnesota lawmaker, who during her three years in Congress has tangled not only with then-President Donald Trump but also with her own party. 

But Representative Omar is also the whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, responsible for corralling its members when it comes time to vote. And that caucus has grown dramatically from a once-marginal group to nearly half of House Democrats today, giving it significant leverage. 

Late Thursday afternoon, Ms. Omar and fellow progressives were holding firm in their threat to torpedo a vote on the

A big-tent party“They’re stiffening their spine”“We had a deal”