Joe Manchin on his veto power over Biden’s agenda: ‘It’s not a good place to be’

Joe Manchin on his veto power over Biden’s agenda: ‘It’s not a good place to be’

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He says maintaining the 60-vote requirement to overcome an obstruction is a “red line” for him. And he made it clear that he would block the advance of an infrastructure package in a party vote if Democrats don’t work with Republicans.

Manchin added: “It is not a good place. It is not a good place to be.”

But he offered this warning to his party while trying to move the legislation along direct party lines: “I will make sure they don’t.”

Manchin, a rare Democratic senator from a dark red state that former President Donald Trump won with a landslide victory, has long held the spot as the most likely decisive vote among Senate Democrats, a position that the 73-year-old man holds valued when receiving senators from both parties on his boat where he lives in Washington.
Manchin joined the Senate after literally shooting the Democratic climate change proposal in a 2010 campaign ad – and, more recently, he joined Republicans in the Trump years on some of the most controversial issues, such as voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court. Corte and William Barr as attorney general. However, he also voted to condemn Trump in both impeachment trials and voted against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Manchin argues that he is simply trying to ensure that the two parties work together in a highly polarized political environment. His Democratic critics say he is giving too much deference to an opposition party eager to thwart the president’s agenda.

How Democrats miscalculated Manchin and later regained him

Now, under Biden’s command, Manchin holds a unique position: the Democrat, the new president must embark when the votes must fall strictly along party lines. And in particular, Biden encouraged Manchin to stick to his convictions, something he has already done by thwarting part of the White House agenda.

Manchin’s opposition effectively sank Neera Tanden’s appointment to head the Office of Administration and Budget, as he claimed that his previous tweets had made it “very toxic”. And he put Washington on almost 12 hours of tension when he initially declined a last-minute change in unemployment benefits, a position that Democrats feared might have sunk Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief plan. Ultimately, he made a deal and then supported the bill, which passed the Senate by a 50-49 vote, without support from the Republican Party.

Democratic Senate leaders say that everyone on their bench has the same power. But Manchin is the one who wields it most often.

“Anyone in a 50-50 Senate is in a position to do that,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan and a member of the leadership. Asked whether Manchin should be careful not to overdo it, Stabenow: “I think we all need to be careful with that.”

With the flood of attention he is receiving, some of his colleagues also do not want to talk about him.

“Here’s what I’m going to say about Manchin: everyone asks me about him. Why don’t you just ask him?” said Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who also represents West Virginia. “Seriously. When you have a one vote margin, everyone has a lot of influence. Talk to him about it.”

In fact, several other members who have joined the Democrats have the potential to be decisive votes, like Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jon Tester of Montana and Angus King of Maine, while others facing difficult reelections may split from their party – such as Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who joined seven of her colleagues to vote against a attempt to include a federal minimum wage of $ 15 in the aid project.

Undecided on the main nominees

However, few are attracting as much attention from the White House as Manchin. With Biden’s nominee to be the Pentagon’s undersecretary of policy, Colin Kahl, by a thread, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin jumped on the phone to lobby for Manchin’s support. The West Virginia Democrat also spoke with former Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Kahl himself.

In his conversation with Manchin, Kahl expressed regret for his previous tweets, and Manchin said that they “were nowhere near as prolific” as Tanden’s.

“Tweets,” said Manchin, looking exasperated. “I don’t know why people want to get there. I really don’t know.”

Other nominees came to court Manchin as well – the most recent being Xavier Becerra, who was appointed secretary of Health and Human Services. With Republican Party opposition lining up, claiming that Becerra is too liberal for the job, Manchin’s support could be decisive.

“The thing is, I have been very different in this, do you understand me?” Manchin said of the presidential nominees.

In Becerra, Manchin said: “His political background is different from mine. OK? I really appreciate his struggle for ACA because all people with pre-existing conditions and 800,000 West Virginia residents would have lost, and he fought for it. But some his other postures are different from mine. But you understand, it’s not his policy that he’s pushing for ”if confirmed.

It remains to be seen whether Republicans will support Becerra, with both GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine signaling that they were undecided and still having discussions with Becerra, and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah telling CNN that she planned to oppose him.

“He has just left the mainstream of his own party with regard to abortion and religious freedom,” Romney said of Becerra on Wednesday.

Other nominees may depend on gaining full Democratic support, such as Vanita Gupta as number 3 in the Department of Justice, although Manchin has signaled that he has not yet analyzed his nomination.

For Biden and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, they recognize the importance of Manchin’s vote – something that has become clear during a busy day of negotiations last Friday over the aid package. Schumer bluntly warned Manchin that supporting a Republican alternative to unemployment benefits would end the general aid project, while Biden engaged in a smoother sale: encouraging him to vote for his conscience.

“I wanted Donald Trump to succeed,” said Manchin in the interview. “I want Joe Biden to be successful … But, as he said, ‘Joe’, he said, ‘I never asked you to go against your beliefs.’ And I said to him, ‘Thank you, Mr. President, because I will not be going.’ ”

Manchin vows to block partisan efforts

In fact, while Democrats are trying to carry out a huge infrastructure package, Manchin said bluntly that he would block the effort if they tried to move the plan forward in a direct party vote and use a budget process called “reconciliation” – and don’t try win over Republicans first. It is the same process that Democrats used to pass the broad relief bill that passed Congress on Wednesday.

Still, if Democrats do not use the budget process, they will have to win at least 10 Republicans to break an obstruction, which requires 60 votes, which can be a daunting task.

“It would be nice to find common ground first,” said Tester of trying to win over Republicans before moving on to reconciliation. He added with a laugh, “But I don’t want to sound like Joe Manchin.”

Many Democrats over the weekend were excited when Manchin signaled openness to review the obstruction, a tool he promised to protect on behalf of his predecessor, the late West Virginia senator Robert Byrd, a staunch supporter of the Senate.

Manchin is suggesting that he may be open to forcing senators to hold on to the floor – instead of the current situation, where a simple threat of obstruction is enough to slow the body down and force a vote to 60 votes.

But Manchin made it clear that he will not step back from the 60 vote limit, telling CNN that it is a “red line” for him. This means that Democrats will have no votes to change the rules of obstruction to allow 51 senators to move forward in legislation, even with an increasing number in their party demanding this monumental change in the face of the Republican Party’s opposition to many of its big shots Items of the agenda.

“The red line is having a minority stake in its process,” said Manchin. “This is how we were designed … I saw no reason to leave the 1960s.”

Manchin’s colleagues on both sides are watching him closely.

“I hope he stays strong,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina. “I’m sure Robert Byrd would like him to. And the people of West Virginia. We will stop being the Senate if this is over. “

CNN’s Olanma Mang and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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