U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of two Democratic lawmakers dramatically endangering President Joe Biden’s historic plan to strengthen the social safety net, is denying a report from the well-respected progressive news outlet Mother Jones that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party, and has a plan to do so.
“It’s bullshit,” says the West Virginia Democrat who is demanding Biden’s Build Back Better plan come in at $1.75 trillion. (The original price tag was $7 trillion.)
CNN’s Manu Raju got the scoop:
Mother Jones’ David Corn reported Wednesday Manchin “has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand to cut the size of the social infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, according to people who have heard Manchin discuss this. Manchin has said that if this were to happen, he would declare himself an ‘American Independent.’ And he has devised a detailed exit strategy for his departure.”
That plan involves resigning from Senate Democratic leadership, then, depending on the response from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, leaving the party altogether.
“Through it all,” Corn adds, Manchin “has insisted that $1.75 trillion is his top and final offer, and he has constantly said no to proposed programs that almost every other congressional Democrat supports. He has told his fellow Democrats that if they don’t accept his position, they risk getting nothing.”