The White House is striking a conciliatory tone with Sen. Joe Manchin despite the West Virginia Democrat threatening the passage of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure, climate change, and social welfare spending packages.
Manchin is “an important partner” to the Biden administration, according to top spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
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“The president firmly believes that critical investment in our future should be paid for, and, if we do, economists tell us that they should not increase the inflation risk in this country,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.
Biden is hoping Congress will partly fund the $3.5 trillion Democrats-only reconciliation bill, which includes proposals such as clean energy tax credits and free community college, by “making corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share,” according to Jean-Pierre.
“This is an important part of the president’s economic policy,” she said. “The best way to reduce costs that are hitting families’ pocketbooks, childcare, prescription drugs, tuition, elder care, is to pass the president’s bill ‘Back Better Agenda,’ which will cut these costs over the long term.”
Jean-Pierre declined to say whether Biden had spoken with Manchin since he published a Thursday op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. Manchin called on Democrats in the op-ed to “hit a strategic pause” on the $3.5 trillion spending measure after the Afghanistan withdrawal and amid rising inflation. The framework has been projected to add more than $1.75 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
“While some have suggested this reconciliation legislation must be passed now, I believe that making budgetary decisions under artificial political deadlines never leads to good policy or sound decisions,” Manchin wrote. “I have always said if I can’t explain it, I can’t vote for it, and I can’t explain why my Democratic colleagues are rushing to spend $3.5 trillion.”
Manchin is not the only Senate Democrat who has indicated they are against the reconciliation bill, which requires the support of all 50 Democrats to pass the chamber. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has also voiced her opposition.
But progressives, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, latched on to Manchin’s comments and scrutinized him for his ties to fossil fuel corporations, such as Exxon.
“It’s killing people. Our people. At least 12 last night. Sick of this ‘bipartisan’ corruption that masquerades as clear-eyed moderation,” she tweeted.
The House is expected to vote on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal passed by the Senate last month by Sept. 27. At the same time, lawmakers in the chamber are marking up the reconciliation package before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Sept. 15 deadline.
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Pelosi set the deadline in order to link the two pieces of legislation in an effort to ensure liberal Democrats back the bipartisan measure and centrists endorse the reconciliation counterpart.
