Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) stated on Monday that he will vote no on President Biden’s flagship climate and social policy legislation, effectively derailing the president’s domestic program heading into a crucial election year.
Democrats only have high praises on Manchin, whose objections about the package have stymied negotiations in the 50-50 Senate for months.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), another Progressive Caucus leader, accused Manchin of abandoning struggling Americans and undercutting Biden and the United States on the international arena after the president spoke at a climate conference in Scotland and promised action.
Escobar further stated that Build Back Better is about solving the tremendous challenges we face right now: a climate disaster, working families living paycheck to paycheck, fighting inflation, and providing everyday Americans a chance at success. Ignoring the challenges in front of us that need action is effectively walking away from BBB.
While majority of the party’s displeasure was thrown at Manchin, some Democrats on Capitol Hill expressed their discontent with the White House’s handling of the Build Back Better deliberations.
White House officials labored to manage a tumultuous intra party feud between progressives and moderates over the timing and political strategies to enact the Build Back Better bill and a separate infrastructure package.
To overcome the impasse, Biden assured progressives that if the infrastructure bill passed, he would get Manchin’s vote for Build Back Better. Biden should never have overpromised to progressives, according to one Democratic lawmaker, especially when it came to embracing large left demands like paid family leave and extended child tax credits, which Manchin was secretly rejecting.
