WASHINGTON – Sen. Joe Manchin says he can’t support the Biden administration’s “massive” Build Back Better legislation, drawing ire from President Biden and other Democrats.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, Manchin (D-W.Va.) said December 19 during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
In response, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Manchin’s announcement is “at odds” with what he told Biden earlier this week. She called the move “a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position” and “a breach of his commitments” to Biden and fellow Democrats.
Psaki said Manchin had “committed to the president, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the president then subsequently announced.”
The White House also indicated it isn’t done trying to convince West Virginia’s junior senator.
“Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word," Psaki said.
Manchin mentioned his issues with passing the legislation that has an official price tag of nearly $2 trillion. He listed economic concerns such as inflation and the growing national debt as well as possible issues with the COVID-19 omicron variant.
“When you have these things coming at you the way they are right now, I’ve always said this ... if I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it,” Manchin said. “I tried everything humanly possible. I can’t do it.
“This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do.”
Earlier this week, Biden had indicated Manchin still supported the framework of the social and environmental legislation package. But Manchin said Sunday those were Biden’s words, not his.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, criticized Manchin’s decision. He even pushed Democratic leaders to call Manchin’s hand.
“If he doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of West Virginia and America, let him vote no in front of the whole world,” Sanders told CNN’s ”State of the Union” after Manchin’s announcement.
Other supporters of the bill also weighed in.
“Infuriated,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told the Associated Press. “We’ve had concerns about trusting Joe Manchin throughout the year.
“Manchin is the one that is killing Biden’s agenda.”
“After months of negotiations, one Democratic U.S. Senator has now summarily walked away from productive negotiations. That is unacceptable, and we cannot act like this moment is the end,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) also told the AP.
Manchin also said fellow lawmakers hadn’t worked to “shrink” the bill, saying the social programs in the legislation would need to be paid for over 10 years to garner his support.
But other Democrats deny Manchin’s claims that the bill would increase inflation and budget concerns. Earlier this month, a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the actual cost of the legislation would be about $5 trillion rather than $2 trillion. Democrats also denied that claim.
Earlier this week, an AP analysis of the Build Back Better negotiations mentioned Manchin’s time in the spotlight.
“The senator appears to both relish and despise all the attention he has commanded over many months at Biden's home in Delaware with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in regular visits with Biden at the White House and in his daily strolls through the Capitol, where he banters amiably, swats back questions or simply clams up – which becomes a statement of its own, leaving Manchin-whisperers to wonder what his silence means,” the AP story says. “But between his endless hallway utterances is a consistent through-line in Manchin’s months-long commentary about what he wants in — and out — of Biden’s big package before giving his vote.
“The short version is he’s not quite there yet.”