'Nobody wants to blink:' A canceled trip, deal-less meetings and 24 hours to thread the needle

In a moment when President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders sought to create desperately needed momentum to pass key parts of the President's agenda, everything appeared to turn in the exact opposite direction.

Biden's meetings with two key Democratic moderates yielded nothing in the form of a tangible -- and absolutely necessary -- public commitment or acknowledgment of their preferred path forward.

The progressive outcry against the planned vote on Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package didn't just hold, according to several members it actually grew in numbers over the course of the day.

With 24 hours until Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to hold the infrastructure vote, something needs to unlock, and fast, for Biden and Democratic leaders to have any hope of success.

"Nobody wants to blink, everyone thinks the other side is about to," said one source involved in the negotiations. "Neither is right about that, which puts us in a very bad place."