Introduced in Pittsburgh Wednesday is expected to be the first of two large packages aimed at rebuilding the nations infrastructure and

introduced in Pittsburgh Wednesday is expected to be the first of two large packages aimed at rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and

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Seven officers involved in the in-custody death of a Black jail inmate in Texas whose family members say may have been suffering a mental health crisis have been fired, a sheriff said.

The detention officers violated sheriff's office policies and procedures leading up to the death of Marvin Scott III, Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said in a news release Thursday. An eighth officer resigned. The names and races of the officers haven’t been released.

Scott, 26, was arrested March 14 at an outlet mall in Allen on a charge of possessing less than two ounces of marijuana, authorities have said. Allen officers took Scott to a hospital because he was reportedly acting erratically. Scott was released and police took him to the county jail.

While at the jail, Scott began to exhibit “some strange behavior,” Skinner said at a March 19 news conference. Detention officers placed Scott on a restraint bed, used pepper spray and covered his face with a spit mask. Scott became unresponsive at some point and later was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Collin County medical examiner’s office has not yet released a cause of death for Scott. The Texas Rangers were continuing to investigate Scott’s death, according to Skinner’s statement.

Skinner has said the spit mask used on Scott fit over his head and had a net on it. Law enforcement's use of face coverings such as spit hoods on people — and the frequent reliance on police to respond to mental health emergencies — drew new attention last year following Daniel Prude’s suffocation in Rochester, New York. The mesh coverings have been linked to other deaths.

At his news conference last month, Skinner said there is video of the interaction between Scott and detention officers and added that the Texas Rangers also has the video and is reviewing it. Capt. Nick Bristow, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said in an email Friday that the video is from inside the jail and that it would not be made public at this time. Skinner has said the sheriff's office would not comment on any specific details related to the case because of ongoing investigations.

“The death of this young man is a profound tragedy and we have an obligation to uncover the full and complete truth, firm, concrete and factual information," Skinner said last month.

Family members have said that Scott had schizophrenia and may have been suffering a mental health crisis. Scott’s family has hired a forensic pathologist to conduct an independent autopsy.

Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt, who is representing Scott's family, has said he thinks Scott was jailed for marijuana possession because he was Black and viewed as a criminal rather than as someone in crisis.

In recent years, various law enforcement agencies and local and state governments around the U.S. have instituted policies limiting or ending arrests for small amounts of marijuana. Four states, including New Jersey and Arizona, last year passed referenda allowing recreational cannabis, and the U.S. House in December approved a bill to decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level. The legislation later stalled in the Senate.

A statement Thursday by Merritt noted that Scott's funeral was Wednesday.

“Just one day after the funeral of Marvin Scott III, the Collin County Sheriff has fired seven detention officers in connection with his death,” the statement said. “We are pleased with this decision and consider this progress.”
But the path forward on Capitol Hill for such a massive spending bill is precarious.

If Democrats want to move swiftly, they'll likely need to do so using reconciliation, a procedural budget tool that allows passage of legislation without the necessary 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster. But Biden needs to hang onto moderate Democrats because a single Democratic defection in the evenly split Senate could sink the bill's chances.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., pushed to include more moderate proposals in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and may seek similar concessions on infrastructure.

"Infrastructure, my God, when you think about it, that pothole doesn't have an R or D name on it, it'll blow your tire and ruin your car, it doesn't care," Manchin said during a panel last week. "So, don't you think infrastructure is something that could bring us together?"

MORE: Biden holds 1st Cabinet meeting the day after proposing sweeping infrastructure plan
Manchin also cautioned his colleagues against adding unrelated items to the bill because he said he believes an infrastructure package could get a large, bipartisan backing "unless you throw everything on top of it, all of your pent-up social frustration."

And therein lies the challenge in the House, where Biden can only afford to lose three Democrats given the tight margins and some progressive members are calling on the administration to go bigger and bolder.

PHOTO: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez listens during a news conference to introduce the "Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021" at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 18, 2021.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez listens during a news conference to introduce the "Puerto Rico Sel...Read More
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted Tuesday that Biden's plan falls short of expectations.

"This is not nearly enough. The important context here is that it's $2.25T spread out over 10 years," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after details of the plan were released. "For context, the COVID package was $1.9T for this year *alone,* with some provisions lasting 2 years. Needs to be way bigger."

The Congressional Progressive Caucus called the plan a "welcome first step," but one that "can and should be substantially larger in size and scope."

"We have a limited window to get this done -- we must seize our chance to build back better with economy-wide investments that work for working families and communities of color," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the caucus, said in a statement Tuesday.

PHOTO: Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaks during a House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust on Capitol Hill, July 29, 2020. 
Mandel Ngan/AP, File
Mandel Ngan/AP, File
Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaks during a House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust on Capitol Hill i...Read More
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back on that notion.

"I don't think they have a mandate to do what they're doing," he said at a press event in Kentucky on Thursday. "If you look at the results in Congress, the 50-50 Senate and maybe a three-vote majority in the House, I don't think the American people gave them a mandate to drive our country all the way to the political left."

While Biden has been clear that he'll seek bipartisan support, during a conversation with Politico on Thursday, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said it is not necessarily a requirement.

"In the end, let me be clear: The president was elected to do a job. And part of that job is to get this country ready to win the future. That's what he's going to do," Klain said. "We know what has bipartisan support in the country. And so we're gonna try our best to get bipartisan support here in Washington."

Klain said the president's proposal is meant as a starting point for further conversation.

MORE: Biden takes the long view: 'It's a matter of timing,' he says of presidency, agenda
Several rank-and-file Senate Democrats are largely in favor of the Biden proposal and multiple members touted the bill's historic nature and praised it for being a job creator in statements released Wednesday.

But even those championing the bill are also hoping to see changes to it.

Biden has proposed funding the massive plan by implementing tax reforms. The most notable would raise taxes on large corporations to pay for the bill, walking back some of the corporate tax cuts pushed through by the Trump administration. Biden has promised that no one earning under $400,000 would see a tax raise to pay for the infrastructure proposal.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats are hoping that the infrastructure bill might be a vehicle to overturn another Trump-era tax rule. Schumer, who is largely supportive of the overall Biden proposal, said he plans to "fight hard" to get caps on state and local tax deductions, also known as SALT deductions, lifted as part of the bill.

Under President Donald Trump's tax reform in 2017, a $10,000 limit was imposed on the amount of state and local tax that could be deducted from federal tax dues. The cap most severely impacts residents of states with higher state income taxes, such as the traditionally liberal states like New York and California.

House Democrats are also rallying for changes to the SALT rules.

"I am not going to support any change in the tax code unless there is a restoration of the SALT deduction," Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said in a statement Monday.

It's unclear if any Democrats will actually vote against the package on the floor, but if the administration is looking to shore up its chances and avoid being derailed by Democratic defectors, it may be hard pressed to find sympathetic Republicans. Infrastructure has traditionally been a space for bipartisan cooperation, but Republicans said this package is too broadl"I don't think they have a mandate to do what they're doing," he said at a press event in Kentucky on Thursday. "If you look at the results in Congress, the 50-50 Senate and maybe a three-vote majority in the House, I don't think the American people gave them a mandate to drive our country all the way to the political left."

While Biden has been clear that he'll seek bipartisan support, during a conversation with Politico on Thursday, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said it is not necessarily a requirement.

"In the end, let me be clear: The president was elected to do a job. And part of that job is to get this country ready to win the future. That's what he's going to do," Klain said. "We know what has bipartisan support in the country. And so we're gonna try our best to get bipartisan support here in Washington."

Klain said the president's proposal is meant as a starting point for further conversation.

MORE: Biden takes the long view: 'It's a matter of timing,' he says of presidency, agenda
Several rank-and-file Senate Democrats are largely in favor of the Biden proposal and multiple members touted the bill's historic nature and praised it for being a job creator in statements released Wednesday.

But even those championing the bill are also hoping to see changes to it.

Biden has proposed funding the massive plan by implementing tax reforms. The most notable would raise taxes on large corporations to pay for the bill, walking back some of the corporat