Politics
Sen. Joe Manchin takes on White House backlash following rejection of Biden spending
Manchin has long signaled that he did not support the bill as written, citing its high cost, among other issues
December 21, 2021 3:42pm
Updated: December 21, 2021 6:21pm
Sen. Joe Manchin (R-WV) lashed out at White House staff on a home-state radio station on Monday, blaming their “inexcusable” tactics for why he decided against voting on President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
“It is not the president. This is staff,” the West Virginia Democrat told Hoppy Kercheval, a host on West Virginia MetroNews, on why he publicly declared he was a “no” on Biden’s sweeping spending bill. His vote was required to reach 50 votes, which would allow Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie.
Manchin was careful not to criticize Biden during the Monday interview, saying the President was always “willing to work and listen and try.” The senator instead focused on the behavior of administration aides during protracted negotiations that drove him to his “wit’s end.”
“They figured, ‘Surely to God we can move one person. Surely we can badger and beat one person up. Surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough they will just say, okay I’ll vote for anything, just quit,'” said Manchin.
“Well guess what? I’m from West Virginia. I’m not from where they’re from and they can beat the living crap out of people and think they will be submissive,” Manchin added.
Manchin has long signaled that he did not support the bill as written, citing its high cost, among other issues. Specific changes he sought included a $200,000 income cap for extending the child tax credit and assurances that the bill’s $12,500 rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles didn’t go to only the wealthy.
His decision to vote against BBB provoked a strong backlash from the White House and Congressional Democrats, who had banked on it as a much-needed victory for Biden’s legislative agenda. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested he had “reversed his position” from what he had said in private.
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will call for a vote on BBB in the New Year, hoping that putting everyone on the record will change the votes of Manchin and moderate Republican holdouts.
