WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is making it clear that he doesn’t want Democrats to advance key items on President Joe Biden’s agenda without Republican votes.
Manchin spoke with NBC News on Thursday about negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans on an infrastructure package and whether he’s ready to go it alone with members of his own party if talks collapse.
“I don't think this is going to fall apart. I really don't,” Manchin said following an event with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Asked if he’s ready to pass a budget reconciliation bill that could allow Democrats to advance an infrastructure measure without GOP support, Manchin said, “No, I don't think you should. I really don't. ... Right now, basically we need to be bipartisan.”
Manchin said he’s not going to bend to pressure from progressive Democrats who want to eliminate the Senate’s filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance legislation.
“I'm not going to get [in] the situation where I'm placating to different people wanting different things," he said. “I haven't changed. I'm not changing.”
Manchin also said any voting rights legislation considered by the Senate must be bipartisan to gain his vote, saying that a single-party push for Democratic-sponsored legislation is a “disaster waiting to happen.”
House Democrats passed a sweeping voting rights and election overhaul bill over Republican opposition in March, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has promised a vote on the bill after the committee process.
Manchin also said that he thinks Biden’s comments last week seeming to call him out for voting with Republicans more than with Democrats — which is factually incorrect — were taken out of context. He said he spoke with the White House about the president's remarks afterward.
On Wednesday, Biden offered Senate Republicans a proposal to pay for an infrastructure package that would include a number of tax increases but would not reverse anything in the 2017 tax cut bill signed into law by then-President Donald Trump. Talks are continuing between the White House and Senate Republicans, though Democrats have warned they might have to pass legislation on their own in a partisan process if an agreement is not reached soon.
Julie Tsirkin contributed.
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Manchin makes clear he doesn't want Democrats to go it alone on infrastructure - NBC News
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