Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Tuesday blasted “revenge politics” as Senate Republicans balk at an energy permitting deal Democratic leadership plans to attach to a crucial government funding bill Congress must pass by Oct. 1 to avert a government shutdown.
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Senate Republicans remain frustrated by the energy deal, which Manchin struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in exchange for his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, a scaled-back version of Build Back Better, President Joe Biden’s sweeping social spending and green energy bill. Manchin sunk Build Back Better when he objected to its price tag and raised concerns over inflation, and many Republicans were surprised by his subsequent agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that the text of his permitting proposal will be available Wednesday, but it does not yet appear there are the votes needed to pass a continuing resolution including Manchin’s reforms in the upper chamber.
The deal will likely need more than 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster, as Democrats might not uniformly support it. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) opposes the deal on environmental grounds, having called it “disastrous” in remarks on the Senate floor earlier this month.
“I guess the old saying that politics makes strange bedfellows, I gotta be honest with you, I’ve been around for a long time in state politics and federal politics — I’ve never seen stranger bedfellows than Bernie Sanders and the extreme liberal-left side of the aisle with Republican leadership in Congress. I’ve never seen this happen,” Manchin said at the press conference.
But Manchin was bullish in defending his permitting reform deal and cast Republican objections to the agreement as retribution for his Inflation Reduction Act vote.
He characterized the opposition as “basically revenge towards one person, me,” adding, “I’m hearing that the Republican leadership is upset and they’re saying we’re not going to give the victory to Joe Manchin. Joe Manchin’s not looking for a victory. We’ve got a good piece of legislation.”
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Manchin’s West Virginia colleague, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, introduced a competing permitting reform bill supported by most Republicans. But Manchin, who said Capito is a friend, called that effort a “messaging bill” and expressed optimism that Republicans, including Capito, would be won over when they saw the text of the deal.
