Why it's getting even harder for Biden to pass his legacy-defining agenda

Democrats were already attempting the near impossible with Joe Biden's presidential agenda in peril. But a string of recent setbacks is making it even more crucial -- and difficult -- to pass his legacy-defining agenda.

Biden spent Wednesday urgently trying to mend splits between moderate and progressive Democrats that threaten to topple his foundational $3.5 trillion spending bill and a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package within days. His efforts at classic Oval Office cajoling took place under extreme political pressure at a moment that will prove whether the President's party has the capacity to fully use the power it won in 2020.

Minute majorities in the House and the Senate were always going to make it tough to live up to the soaring expectations of Biden's election win. Then the Senate Republicans' use of the filibuster forced Democratic leaders to cram almost all of his popular goals on health care, education, climate change and expanding the social safety net into one massive bill that could pass on a majority vote. The downside: If the monster spending plan fails it could take down much of Biden's legacy in one crushing collapse.