| It was a busy day along the Acela corridor on Tuesday as the Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure package after months of negotiations and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced his resignation following a string of sexual harassment allegations. The Senate passed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday morning, 69-30, sending over to the House a priority of President Biden’s agenda. The long-awaited vote took place after months of bipartisan negotiations, headlined by talks led by a group of 10 senators spearheaded by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) that resulted in a breakthrough in recent weeks (The Hill). “Congress has talked about truly modernizing our nation’s infrastructure for as long as we can remember. The United States Senate delivered so that we can finally give the American people the safe, reliable, and modern infrastructure they deserve,” Portman, Sinema and the eight other senators said in a joint statement after the vote. Nineteen Senate Republicans voted with all 50 senators in the Democratic caucus to pass the bill, with GOP leadership dividing on the final vote. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) voted in favor of the package. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) voted against it. The Hill: The 19 Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill. The Washington Post: How McConnell and Senate Republicans learned to stop worrying about a Biden victory and love the infrastructure bill. The Wall Street Journal: McConnell credits Biden for infrastructure breakthrough, dismisses Trump criticism. The bipartisan measure includes roughly $550 billion in new funding, with the remainder coming largely from reallocated monies from previous COVID-19 relief packages already passed by Congress. If passed by the House, the blueprint would include dollars for new investments for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, broadband, water and mass transit. While it is a major step for Biden’s agenda, it also was a significant victory for Senate bipartisanship, seen as scarce in recent months. However, as The Hill’s Jordain Carney writes, the victory is likely to be short-lived, as a battle over the reconciliation bill and the debt ceiling looms, with most Democrats still laser-focused on nixing the legislative filibuster. The Hill: 46 GOP senators warn they will not raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Action on the bipartisan product will now move over to the House, which is not expected to consider the $1.2 trillion legislation until the Senate also passes a reconciliation bill in the neighborhood of $3.5 trillion despite clamoring from some moderate House Democrats. The latter package is expected to include provisions to increase taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations, expand Medicare, fund universal pre-K and free tuition for community college students, and create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, among other items. Shortly after the bipartisan vote, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) moved on to open consideration of the budget resolution, with Senate Democrats approving it early this morning, 50-49, allowing them to pass the $3.5 trillion spending plan without GOP support later this year. The vote capped off an hours-long chaotic debate on the floor where senators voted on dozens of largely non-binding amendments, offering a sneak peak of the fight to come on the gargantuan proposal. Senate Democrats are expected to vote on the package as soon as late September (The Hill). Text of the $3.5 trillion budget resolution is HERE. The New York Times: Biden finds a bipartisan victory, but Democratic unity may prove more elusive. Across the Capitol, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the House will take a brief interruption from its seven-week recess to open consideration of the budget resolution on Aug. 23. The Maryland Democrat did not specify how long the House would be in session, simply saying that lawmakers “will remain in session until our business for the week is concluded.” The House is also expected to consider a voting rights bill named after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) during that time (The Hill). The Hill’s Scott Wong and Mike Lillis: It's now Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) move on bipartisan roads bill. The Hill: White House gears up for next fight after infrastructure win. Niall Stanage: The Memo: Biden beats former President Trump again — this time in the Senate. The Hill: Schumer sets September voting rights fight after GOP blocks quick debate. 
© Getty Images On a day when elected leaders in Washington exulted in a legislative accomplishment they hope will improve the lives of constituents, Cuomo ended his three terms in office with a sudden and at times emotional resignation that he said will ultimately serve the people of his state (The New York Times and The Hill). In less than two weeks, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will be sworn in as the first female governor of New York. Cuomo, who faced potential impeachment proceedings, announced his decision to step down just eight days after the state’s Democratic attorney general released an investigative report that concluded the governor sexually harassed at least 11 women in and out of government and participated in attempts to punish his accusers. It was a head-spinning ending for one of the nation’s best-known leaders who a year ago was celebrated for his decision making as COVID-19 swept through New York. His image as a pandemic hero was later tarnished by revelations that thousands of New York nursing home deaths from COVID-19 were undercounted as the state refused for months to divulge the real numbers. Cuomo, his voice wavering on Tuesday, repeated his defense that he may have “deeply offended” 11 women, but he did not sexually harass women. He said he made “mistakes” and failed to recognize the “extent to which the line has been redrawn.” His critics have pointed out that his signature is on New York law redrawing some of those lines. Biden, who had previously called on Cuomo to resign, separated the governor’s personal behavior from his 10 years as a policy leader, commending Cuomo for “a hell of a job.” NBC News: Hochul, 62, is not a newcomer in politics. New York Democrats Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand both praised the lieutenant governor. The Associated Press: What’s next in New York following Cuomo’s resignation. The New York Times: Railing at enemies and pleading for time: Inside Cuomo’s final days. The Washington Post: How Cuomo’s flexing of political power became his undoing. 
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