Congress is out this week and the Biden administration will spend much of the next few days promoting the benefits of BIF, making the case for the reconciliation bill and pushing parents and schools to get kids vaccinated.

So enjoy a brief window of calm in between last week’s Virginia and BIF news and the holiday insanity coming to Congress.

The must-read of the day to get prepared for what’s coming is this WSJ piece by Nick Timiraos, Natalie Andrews and Ian Talley on the obstacles looming for Biden.

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Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

The House adjourned just after 10 p.m. on Thursday night as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team struggled to round up votes to pass the twin infrastructure and Build Back Better bills. Democratic leadership announced the House will be back in session at 8 a.m. and votes would happen today.

— One reason for Democrats to be optimistic today: “[M]any in the caucus are set to embark on overseas trips ahead of next week’s recess.” A deadline, in other words, could help push them to act.

— One reason for Democrats to be pessimistic: “But party leaders’ failure to corral the votes they need on Thursday — after several exhausting weeks spent hashing out many of the same issues — has left some Democrats privately wondering how they’ll pull it off on Friday.”

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Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Following an embarrassing election night for Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her caucus have redoubled their efforts to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIF) and Build Back Better package (BBB) through their chamber this week. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Wednesday night that both bills could even see a floor vote as soon as today.

For now, the GOP sweep in Virginia and Dems’ razor-thin victory in New Jersey seem to have done what months of negotiations on the Hill could not: force moderates and progressives into line on passing both bills.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

 New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is still too close to call as you wake up this morning. With 88% of the expected vote in, incumbent Phil Murphy is trailing Republican Jack Ciattarelli by just over 1,000 votes. 

President Joe returned from Europe overnight to a Washington where politics has been completely upended since he left six days ago. 

Before he departed, Biden told House Democrats, “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the House and Senate majorities and my presidency will be determined by what happens in the next week.” He meant inaction on his two legislative priorities, leaving Europe with no congressional backing for his climate proposals, and potential defeats in one or more crucial elections Tuesday that would make everything worse. Biden may have been prescient.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Terry McAuliffe’s final message was almost entirely negative, focused on tying his opponent to Trump. Glenn Youngkin’s pitch was more complicated. He spent far more time advocating for job training programs, fixing the Virginia DMV, eliminating the state’s grocery tax and admiringly name-checking George W. Bush than he did talking about how he would ban critical race theory (a topic he’s leaned on plenty during the campaign to activate the MAGA base, despite the fact it’s not being taught in schools).

Still, Virginia is a blue state that Joe Biden won by 10 points, and the obvious intensity gap on display in the final days can be deceiving.

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Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Could prescription drug pricing reform make it into the reconciliation bill after all? Senate and House Democrats and the White House came close to reaching a deal on the issue Sunday, report Burgess Everett, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Heather Caygle. The plan in the works would allow some Medicare negotiations with pharmaceutical companies — but if it comes together, it would still be much narrower than many Democrats initially intended.

And, the race for governor in Virginia heads into the final stretch. The final polls: FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker has Youngkin surging into a slight lead, now up by an average of 0.6 points.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

To say Thursday was a roller coaster for President Joe Biden's agenda wouldn’t do justice to how truly head-spinning the day was. The White House releases a Build Back Better (BBB) deal backed by Manchinema (now they’re getting somewhere) — only to watch Bernie Sanders balk (never mind). The president delays his trip to Europe to rally House Democrats behind his plan — then whiffs, somehow neglecting to deliver the tough love message Democratic leaders wanted him to so they could pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIF) this week. 

But just when it looked like the day would end in embarrassment for Democrats, the Congressional Progressive Caucus issues a surprise endorsement of the president’s compromise plan — removing one of the last big obstacles in its way. 

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

A senior White House official recently described the reconciliation negotiations as a “nine-way teeter-totter.” Wednesday was a good example.

Ever since Sen. Kyrsten Sinema nixed the party’s plan to raise corporate, capital gains and individual tax rates to pay for the bulk of the reconciliation bill, Democrats have been struggling to re-balance the revenue plank.

And, House Majority Whip James Clyburn had this to say speaking to the Jewish Federation of Charleston on Wednesday night: “I’m not too sure that Democrats have yet developed the will to win in 2022.” 

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

President Joe Biden was hoping to announce a deal on his legislative agenda before he heads to Europe on Thursday. But it’s Wednesday already, and so far this week, it’s been two baby steps forward, one giant leap backward for Democrats. We’re not saying a deal won’t materialize; odds are it will — eventually. Here’s a look at the state of play.

And, A local TV station in Nevada took down a pro-Catherine Cortez Masto ad Tuesday after the NRSC complained it included “flagrantly false” information about the vulnerable senator’s GOP challenger. 

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

President Joe Biden might be finally homing in on a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin, but a sense of discontent is starting to bubble up among progressives on the Hill, and it threatens to impede what the White House hoped would be a big week for the Biden agenda. 

As the reconciliation bill’s provisions on Medicare, climate and family leave get watered down — if not axed entirely — progressives who initially sounded a positive note after meetings at the White House are now expressing concerns. And those worries are steering the left into a moment of reckoning over how hard to fight for their priorities.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.