Democratic wildcard Manchin still not sold on Biden's $1.75 trillion bill

Although Sen. Joe Manchin remains at the negotiating table, he is still a wildcard within a Democratic Party that is becoming increasingly more desperate to pass the Biden administration’s climate and spending bill.

Manchin spoke with President Biden on Monday afternoon and noted he was still “engaged” in negotiations – but as he left the Capitol, he noted he wasn’t prepared to commit to voting for or against the $1.75 trillion "Build Back Better" bill, POLITICO reported.

“Listen, let’s at least see the bill. Need to see what they write, what’s the final print. That tells you everything," Manchin said. 

But the White House remains confident that Manchin can still be swayed and administration spokesman Andrew Bates signaled that Biden and the West Virginia senator would speaking again in “the coming days.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing for the bill to pass by Christmas, but Manchin’s concerns over the cost for American taxpayers could foil his plans. “Everyone has to choose basically what we can sustain,” Manchin told reporters.

“I’m not in charge," he added. “Maybe they’ll get everything done this week."

But Manchin has cause for concern and two recent reports likely increased his economic anxiety surrounding the bill.

On Friday, the CBO reported that the Democrats’ provisions would add $3 trillion to the deficit. Similarly, the Labor Department released data last month suggesting inflation hit its highest rate in 30 years. Although Democrats and the White House argue that the bill’s provisions will pay for themselves and that inflation is expected to ease soon, PolitiFact has disputed these claims.

“He’s still concerned about inflation, concerned about the timing,” said a person who spoke to Manchin Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Manchin is also concerned with how the bill is constructed and believes his colleagues should be straight-forward with the American people. One issue that the senator brings up is that several of the provisions within the bill would expire quickly — in the case of the expanded child credit, after just one year. Manchin believes Democrats should and do assume those programs will be extended, which would increase the actual cost of the bill over time. In effect, it hides the true cost of the bill by suggesting that these programs will only last for a short time, when that is not their intention at all. 

“If we don't, we're not transparent and accurate, then where does the money come from? We go back and another bite and more and more funding? Or do we just throw caution to the wind and have debt financing, which has been done by both parties for far too long?” Manchin said Monday.

Manchin also said he wanted some of the money Democrats are raising from new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to go toward paying down the debt and urged the Fed to roll back its quantitative easing program – something he’s been demanding since July.

Manchin remains a wildcard and his Democratic colleagues will need to court and convince him in order to meet Schumer’s Christmas deadline. 

“Landing this plane is a big challenge, it’s an important moment,” said Sen. Chris Coons, who is close to Biden. “But I have real confidence that President Biden is a very persuasive leader.”