Why Sen. Manchin wants to press pause on his own party’s budget bill

Sep 03, 2021 at 04:24 PM CDT

Shannon Longworth

Manchin budget

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As Democrats push to pass their $3.5 trillion budget bill, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) writes an op-ed urging the rest of the party to reevaluate.

Shannon Longworth

Shannon Longworth was an investigative reporter and anchor for Straight Arrow News from 2021 to 2023. She started her career on California’s central coast, then made her way back home working in the sprawling suburbs of New York City

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LONGWORTH: SENATOR JOE MANCHIN IS BACK IN THE NEWS BECAUSE HE WROTE AN OP ED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. NOW, IF ANYBODY REMEMBERS A FEW MONTHS AGO, I DID A JUST ONE NAME SEGMENT ON SENATOR JOE MANCHIN. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT, DEFINITELY GO CHECK IT OUT.

BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS OP-ED. SO MANSION IS A CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRAT. DEMOCRATS ARE PUSHING TO VOTE ON THIS THREE AND A HALF TRILLION DOLLAR SPENDING BILL.

WHAT HE SAID IN THE OP-ED IS THAT HE WANTS THEM TO TAKE A STRATEGIC PAUSE TO RECONSIDER. HE SAYS HE WILL NOT SUPPORT THAT BIG OF A SPENDING BILL. WHY? HE GIVES THREE REASONS HE SAYS HE’S WORRIED ABOUT RISING INFLATION AND THE NATIONAL DEBT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE CRISES. LIKE IF THE PANDEMIC GETS WORSE, WHICH COULD HAPPEN.

SO HE’S SAYING THAT HE WANTS CONGRESS TO RECONSIDER, AND THAT HE WOULD SUPPORT A PARED DOWN VERSION OF THE BILL. NOW WE ARE SEEING SOME REACTION FROM OTHER SENATORS ON TWITTER, INCLUDING THE SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN BERNIE SANDERS. NOW HE SAYS THAT THIS SPENDING BILL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, HIS DIRECT QUOTE, NO INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WITHOUT THE THREE AND A HALF TRILLION DOLLAR RECONCILIATION BILL. SO THAT’S THE LATEST. I’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED AS THIS STORY DEVELOPS.

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