Joe Manchin definitively said Sunday that he is a ‘no’ on President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better social spending agenda after Chuck Schumer pushed a vote on the legislation until after the New Year.
‘I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,’ the West Virginia Democratic senator told Fox News Sunday.
‘I just can’t,’ he added. ‘I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there.’
Speaking on the Senate floor on Friday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated the president’s Build Back Better bill (BBB) would be shelved until 2022 to give Biden more time to negotiate with Manchin.
‘The president requested more time to continue his negotiations, and so we will keep working with him, hand in hand, to bring this bill over the finish line and deliver on these much-needed provisions,’ he said without specifying a timeline.
Biden mentioned Manchin three times on Thursday in a statement admitting it was unlikely that Democrats would pass the $1.75 trillion social and climate reform bill before the end of the year.
‘In these discussions, Senator Manchin has reiterated his support for Build Back Better funding at the level of the framework plan I announced in September,’ he said.
‘I believe that we will bridge our differences and advance the Build Back Better plan, even in the face of fierce Republican opposition.’
