West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2021, and an old friend from across the aisle handled the write-up.
Alongside names such as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Manchin was described as being in the middle of every debate in the deadlocked Senate.
The byline on the article was none other than the Democratic senator’s Capitol Hill colleague, Sen. Susan Collins.
SPENDING BILL DEBATE SPARKS ANOTHER AOC, JOE MANCHIN FEUD
“He is front and center on the filibuster issue, the infrastructure debate, and issues from voting laws to immigration to taxes and spending, as well as nearly every appointment made by the President,” the Maine Republican wrote. “In short, Joe is the go-to guy in the 50-50 Senate.”
Collins recalled when Manchin called her on election night in 2020 to both congratulate her and mention that they should work to “reinvigorate bipartisanship in Washington.”
“At the time, we did not know that the Senate would be equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, making Joe’s vote the most sought-after in the Senate,” she said.
She concluded her short piece by lauding her Democratic colleague’s enthusiasm for working across the aisle.
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“Joe believes passionately that bipartisanship leads to the best solutions, and he wants to prove it can still work,” she wrote. “As someone who shares his belief in working across the aisle, I always want him on my side.”
