Sen. Joe Manchin was asked again this week what his views are regarding President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion “Build Back Better” after he refused to back the legislation several weeks ago, effectively killing it for the time being.
The moderate West Virginia Democrat made it clear once again he’s not in favor of it.
According to CNN correspondent Manu Raju, who posted on Twitter, Manchin said the bill is “dead” as-is.
“What Build Back Better bill? I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Raju reported that Manchin said when asked if he had had any talks on the matter since December
“No, no, no, no. It’s dead,” Manchin declared.
Conservative Brief :
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer decided to go ahead with a vote to end the filibuster to pass the Democrats’ voting legislation and it failed.
Manchin and Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema voted against nuking the filibuster.
If the vote was supposed to humiliate Manchin and Sinema, or if it was designed to pressure them, it was not successful.
Manchin stood before the Senate and gave a fantastic speech explaining that ending the filibuster would tear the nation apart.
“I cannot support such a perilous course for this nation when elected leaders are sent to Washington to unite our country, not to divide our country,” the senator said.
“Let this change happen in this way, and the Senate will be a body without rules,” he said.
KNOW MORE: Manchin Sounds Off in Epic Floor Speech Justifying Vote on Filibuster
“We’ve changed the rules,” in the past, Manchin said. “But we changed them with the rules. We didn’t break the rules to change the rules. But all of a sudden now we just can’t do it anymore. Just got to blow it up,” he said.
“The rule book means that the rules changes are done on the basis of broad, bipartisan consensus, not imposed on the minority by raw majority power,” he explained. “No matter who is in power.”
“The majority does not have that power to do that in this Senate.”