Joe Manchin says he can’t support Build Back Better Act

WASHINGTON – West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin III said on Sunday he could not back President Biden’s signing on a social safety net, a $ 2.2 trillion climate and tax bill, thus condemning the will of his party to adopt the measure as it is written.

“I cannot vote to continue with this bill,” Manchin told “Fox News Sunday”, citing concerns about the increase in the national debt. “I tried everything humanly possible. I can’t do it. It’s a no.

The comments by Mr Manchin, a crucial Democratic resistance fighter, delivered the final, possibly fatal blow to the centerpiece of Mr Biden’s national agenda. With Republicans united in opposing the legislation, Democrats had to get the vote of every senator in their party for the measure to pass by an equally divided Senate.

For months, Mr Manchin had privately regrouped with Mr Biden and his senior officials in an attempt to achieve a compromise. His objections forced the White House to dramatically reduce the scope of the package and cut some programs, including the creation of a clean electricity program and a plan to ban further oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

As early as last week, even as Mr Biden confirmed that efforts to pass the legislation had stalled, he became optimistic, saying talks with Mr Manchin would continue and that he believed that “we will make up our minds. differences and move the reconstruction forward. Better plan.

The Senate left for recess this week without completing work on the sprawling package, pledging to continue work once senators meet in early January. But Mr Manchin appeared to shut the door on further substantive talks on Sunday, complaining that his colleagues had spent months using tricks to make the legislation seem cheaper rather than actually cutting it down.

“They’re just trying to make the adjustment for time to fit the money or the money to fit the time,” Mr. Manchin said. “Don’t change our approach, don’t target the things we should be doing.”

His words are sure to exasperate his fellow Democrats, who had hoped to pass the law before the end of the year. It remains to be seen whether they will respond by significantly changing the bill in the hope of saving something that may pass.

“I think he’s going to have a lot of explanation for the people of West Virginia,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who heads the Senate Budget Committee, calling for a Senate vote on the issue. legislation despite the fact that Mr. Manchin’s Comments.

“We have dealt with Mr. Manchin month after month after month,” he added, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union”. “But if he doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of West Virginia and America, let him vote no in front of the world.”

Chris Cameron contributed reports.