What’s Joe Manchin Doing Flying To Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky?

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) took a private flight to Kentucky, where he made a brief afternoon stop in Mitch McConnell’s home state. What is Manchin up to?

Hugo Lowell of The Guardian tweeted:

The last time Joe Manchin took an out-of-state trip that got people talking, he went to Texas for a fossil fuels lobbyist fundraiser.

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Manchin is the chair of the Senate committee that conducts oversight on the fossil fuel industry, and there is a lot of coal money in Kentucky. The logical explanation is that Manchin was likely in Kentucky to either meet with donors or promise someone that he is going to work to get the climate change provisions out of the reconciliation bill.

Sen. Manchin isn’t going to change parties. There has been zero chatter among Democrats about Joe Manchin leaving. Manchin also isn’t likely to be meeting with McConnell on the filibuster.

What we know from Sen. Manchin’s public statements is that he has problems with the cost and the climate change provisions in the reconciliation bill.

If Manchin is actively working to climate change out of the reconciliation bill, that is a problem that Democrats will have to address.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association