Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that he would not vote for a $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill but backpedaled when asked to name his number on CNN.
Joe Manchin Can’t Name A Spending Amount For Reconciliation Bill
Video:
.@DanaBashCNN presses Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on why he doesn't support the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.
Sen. Chuck Schumer "will not have my vote on the 3.5," Manchin says. pic.twitter.com/LBfgafxkPT
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— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 12, 2021
CNN’s Dana Bash asked Manchin to be specific and asked if he had a specific number in mind.
Manchin talked about he wanted to raise corporate taxes back to 25%.
Bash asked again, “So, what’s the number?”
Manchin said, “The bottom line is what’s going to be competitive in our tax code. I believe the corporate should be at twenty-five, not twenty-one.”
Dana Bash asked for a third time, “So what’s the overall number for the budget?”
Sen. Manchin answered, “I think you’re going to be able to look at it and figure out what you can do in a reasonable, responsible way.”
Joe Manchin’s Game Gets Unmasked
Sen. Manchin never said that he was a total no vote for the bill. He wants to be able to go back to West Virginia and claim that he got a spending cut on the bill.
When he was asked what he thought the bill should cost, Sen. Manchin had no answer.
$3.5 trillion is an arbitrary number. Democrats were ready for someone to do exactly what Sen. Manchin is doing. There is always wiggle room built into budget bills.
Democrats will likely sit down with Manchin, show him how the bill is totally paid for, shave off a bit from the total cost, and the bill will pass.
Joe Manchin’s Game Finally Gets Called Out
It was good to see Manchin finally get pinned down, instead of the press taking his statements at face value in order to create drama.
Notice that Sen. Manchin never said that he would not vote for any bill.
Manchin is playing games to protect himself politically back in West Virginia, but it was refreshing to see him pressed for specifics that he does not have.
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
