Sen. Manchin warns he may vote against Biden social safety net plan as he criticizes key aspects
At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Manchin laid out fundamental concerns over the approach that Biden and his party are taking in their sweeping agenda. He rejected the party’s push to expand social programs and castigated Democrats for using “gimmicks” to hide the true cost of the plan and said far more time is needed to evaluate its economic impact to guard against potential negative consequences.
Despite months of a lobbying campaign by the White House to win over Manchin, including by cutting the price tag in half and making cuts to key programs, the West Virginia moderate’s comments indicate that Democrats may never be able to win his support on this proposal.
“I’m open to supporting a final bill that helps move our country forward, but I am equally open to voting against a bill that hurts our country,” he said in a warning shot to his party.
The comments come at a critical time for Biden’s agenda and are a major blow to…
