WaPo: Manchin's $1.8 trillion spending offer appears no longer to be on the table

[Celerity]

The West Virginia Democrat, who has consulted Mitt Romney and Trump’s former economic adviser, had backed climate and education spending, but talks are now on ice

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/01/08/manchin-white-house-talks/


Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on Jan. 4 said he has not spoken with the White House about the Build Back Better Act since he stated his opposition in December. (The Washington Post)

The week before Christmas, Sen. Joe Manchin III sent the White House a $1.8 trillion counteroffer to President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda that included substantial funds for climate, health-care and education initiatives.

About four weeks later, the West Virginia Democrat has made clear that he does not currently support advancing even that offer following a breakdown in negotiations between Manchin and the White House right before Christmas, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Manchin said publicly this week that he was no longer involved in talks with the White House over the economic package. Privately, he has also made clear that he is not interested in approving legislation resembling Biden’s Build Back Better package and that Democrats should fundamentally rethink their approach. Senior Democrats say they do not believe Manchin would support his offer even if the White House tried adopting it in full — at least not at the moment — following the fallout in mid-December. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Negotiations deteriorated quickly in December after a White House news release named Manchin as the obstacle to passing the legislation. Manchin then surprised the administration by criticizing the bill on Fox News, after which the White House released a blistering statement calling his credibility into question. Manchin, who has drawn protesters’ ire because of his opposition to the legislation, later said the decision to name him in the news release imperiled the safety of his family.

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