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- Rep. Jared Huffman called one of his colleagues a "schmuck" and a "coward" following leaks to the press.
- Democrats are trying to find an agreement on an infrastructure bill as members leak to the press.
- Biden is meeting with House Democrats at 3:30pm, and members will have to leave their phones in cubbies outside.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California had some choice words on Tuesday for an unnamed Democratic House member who had been leaking details of from a morning Democratic caucus meeting to Capitol Hill reporters, calling the leaker a "schmuck" and a "coward."
"Let me be really clear: I love most of my colleagues, but that particular live-leaker is a schmuck. And a coward," Huffman tweeted.
-Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) October 1, 2021
Huffman also accused the member of seeking to promote a "disarray" narrative to the press.
-Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) October 1, 2021
President Joe Biden is set to speak to another meeting of House Democrats at 3:30pm. Ahead of that meeting, House Democrats will be required to leave their phones in cubbies outside the meeting room to prevent further leaking.
-Kristin Wilson (@kristin__wilson) October 1, 2021
An invitation to the 3:30pm meeting sent out to members also notes that cell phones will not be permitted.
-Sarah Mucha (@sarahmucha) October 1, 2021
Tensions within the Democratic caucus are running high as the caucus seeks to reach an agreement ahead of a planned vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the Senate last month.
House progressives say they will not vote for the bill unless they have a commitment from moderate Democratic senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema on the currently $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, leading House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call of a vote on the infrastructure bill late on Thursday.
As this morning meeting got underway, Capitol Hill reporters began tweeting out details from the caucus meeting, presumably originating from members inside the room. Rep. Peter Defazio of Oregon reportedly made an announcement about a highway-related bill, while other reporters said that Pelosi told members to stand if they supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
-Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) October 1, 2021
As the hours-long meeting went on, Democrats grew increasingly frustrated about the leaks. Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia reportedly suggested that they hold their meeting in a room usually intended for reviewing classified information.
-Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) October 1, 2021
As Democrats exited the meeting, they expressed their further displeasure with the leaks.
-Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 1, 2021
Democrats joked on Twitter about the leaks as well.
-Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) October 1, 2021
source https://www.businessinsider.com/house-democrat-calls-leaking-colleague-a-schmuck-and-coward-as-caucus-bans-phones-at-biden-meeting-2021-10