John Podesta warns Democrats they won't get the "full $3.5 trillion investment" and urges them "to unite" in moving forward

In a memo sent to every Democratic congressional office, John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff and member of the Board of Directors at the Center for American Progress think tank, says the party "must unite and act together" to pass the president's domestic agenda — but at a size and price much smaller than many have in mind.

"The political reality is clear, given Democrats have no margin for error in the Senate and a limited margin in the House. We will not secure the full $3.5 trillion investment," he wrote. "It's time for Democrats to unite in finding the path forward." 

Singling out the moderate Democrats who are more focused on moving the smaller infrastructure bill, Podesta said, "[T]o those Democrats who only favor the bipartisan infrastructure bill, know this: you are either getting both bills or neither –– and the prospect of neither is unconscionable. It would signal a complete and utter failure of our democratic duty, and a reckless abdication of our responsibility. It would define our generation's history and show that, when our time came, we failed, both for Americans now and in the years to come. Again, it's time for Democrats to unite, find an honorable compromise and a path forward."