The Biden administration suffered a major setback Sunday, after a moderate Democratic senator said that he would not back the massive Build Back Better Act, effectively blocking the bill’s passage.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin informed President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he will not back the Build Back Better Act, Fox News reported.
Manchin told Fox News Sunday that he “cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation”.
The centrist Democrat balked at the size and expense of the bill, even after spending hikes were scaled back from $4.5 trillion in the original version of the bill to roughly $2 trillion.
"What we need to do is get our financial house in order, but be able to pay for what we do and do what we pay for.”
Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki blasted Manchin, accusing him of breaking a “pledge” to the president.
"Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.”
"Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework ‘in good faith.’"
"If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”
The Build Back Better Act, which includes mammoth increases in spending for a variety of social programs and climate-related items, won strong backing from progressive Democrats, who resisted efforts to scale down spending in order to placate party moderates.
Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar lashed out at Manchin Sunday, tweeting: “Let’s be clear: Manchin’s excuse is bull****.”
“The people of West Virginia would directly benefit from childcare, pre-Medicare expansion, and long term care, just like Minnesotans. This is exactly what we warned would happen if we separated Build Back Better from infrastructure."