Manchin Fires Back at White House Amid Build Back Better Impasse: 'They Know the Real Reason'

By Abby Liebing December 20, 2021 at 4:10pm

West Virginia’s Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said that he will not support the Biden administration’s Build Back Better spending bill. This is causing a hiccup for Democrats and the White House, but Manchin is determined to stand his ground.

The Hill reported that Manchin went even further today, making comments about how the White House will not be able to pressure him to change his mind.

“They figured surely to God we can move one person. We surely can badger and beat one person up. Surely, we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough that they’ll just say, ‘OK I’ll vote for anything,'” he said in a local radio interview, according to The Hill.

“Well, guess what? I’m from West Virginia. I’m not from where they’re from, and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive, period,” Manchin added.

Manchin’s vote for this nearly $1.9 trillion spending bill is necessary for it to pass. But he for months he has expressed concerns over the affects of the bill, particularly that it could only exacerbate the soaring inflation the U.S. is experiencing. For example, by July of this year, inflation hit a 13 year high, CNN reported.

After months of negotiations, Manchin announced Sunday that he would not be supporting the bill.

Manchin was a major roadblock for the legislation from the very beginning. https://t.co/w8LkoX2CiN

— The Western Journal (@WestJournalism) December 19, 2021

“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for, and I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I just can’t get there,” Manchin said on “Fox News Sunday,” as NPR reported.

Do you think the spending bill still has a chance to pass without Manchin?

“This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do. And the president has worked diligently. He’s been wonderful to work with. He knows I’ve had concerns and the problems I’ve had, and, you know, the thing that we should all be directing our attention towards: the variant, a Covid that we have coming back at us in so many different aspects in different ways, it’s affecting our lives again,” he added, according to CNN.

After his initial announcement, however, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration would keep working to try to find an agreement with Manchin.

“Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground. If his comments on Fox and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate,” she said in a statement, according to USA TODAY.

Psaki then went on to say that the White House would press Manchin, in order to get his support on this.

“Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word,” Psaki said.

After these comments, Manchin responded to the White House’s position, saying “basically they retaliated” and “I figured they would come back strong,” The Hill reported.

Losing Manchin’s vote means that the spending bill will likely not have the support it needs to pass. With an even split in the Senate, losing Manchin’s vote causes the Democrats to lose the majority.

But CNBC reported that the Senate will still vote on the bill in January, despite Manchin’s strong opposition.

“Senators should be aware that the Senate will, in fact, consider the Build Back Better Act, very early in the new year so that every Member of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Democrats on Monday, CNBC reported.

“We are going to vote on a revised version of the House-passed Build Back Better Act — and we will keep voting on it until we get something done,” he said.

Meanwhile Manchin is standing his ground and not changing his opinion on the bill.

When discussing his decision to not support the Biden administration’s bill, Manchin said, “They know the real reason … they drove some things, and they put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable,” The Hill reported.

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