Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:44 pm
Democratic leadership is enraged as Sen. Joe Manchin didn’t call Biden and Schumer and tell them that he was blowing up Build Back Better.
And while the centrist senator’s staff informed White House and Democratic aides about his forthcoming blow to Biden’s agenda, some Democrats were steamed that Manchin himself hadn’t called Biden or Schumer.
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“Manchin didn’t have the courage to call the White House or Democratic leadership himself ahead of time,” fumed one Democrat familiar with internal conversations.
Manchin lacked the guts to call President Biden personally and tell him that he was blocking his domestic agenda after the President spent months engaging in good faith negotiations with him.
It is fine for Manchin to be a no vote, but the way that he handled this was so untrustworthy and below-board that Democrats have every right to be angry.
Joe Manchin could have given Biden and Schumer the courtesy of personally calling them to let them know what he was going to do. Instead, he left it to his staff to tell the White House in what was definitely not the behavior of a person of character.
Sen. Manchin betrayed his party, and it looks like he wasn’t adult enough to tell Biden and Schumer face to face.
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
