President Joe Biden gave in to SenatorJoe Manchin 's ultimatum on spending.- Manchin wanted to focus solely on
healthcare subsidies, not climate and other measures.
As the complex political drama of Joe's plays out on the Democratic stage, President Joe Biden is giving in to
Biden, who has seen multiple versions of an ambitious social spending package killed by Manchin, seems to have conceded. In a statement, Biden said he wants the Senate to approve a plan centered on slashing prescription drug costs and an extension of financial assistance through the Affordable Care Act, which cut monthly premiums for many middle-earners.
"Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action," Biden said. "The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk."
Biden lauded Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for a "dogged and determined" effort negotiating with Manchin, who was not named. Two Democrats briefed on the talks said Schumer had been willing to make huge concessions to bring Manchin aboard, including striking out tax credits for electric vehicles.
A Senate Democratic aide told Insider that Democratic leaders intended to move forward next week and ensure the prescription drug program complies with the Senate's reconciliation process.
It caps a remarkable stretch of chaotic negotiations with the centrist holdout that seemed to make progress until Manchin abruptly pulled the plug for the second time. The conservative Democrat privately told Democratic leaders on Thursday night that he wasn't willing to back a slimmer Democratic climate, health, and tax package that was being assembled before August.
On Friday, Manchin made a politically perilous offer to Democrats. During a West Virginia radio interview, he said he could vote now for a healthcare bill containing roughly $40 billion in spending to renew the Obamacare subsidies. But he also opened the door to keep negotiating on a larger climate and tax bill through September without firm commitments.
Manchin expressed worries over sky-high inflation. "Can't we wait to make sure we do nothing to add to that?" he said. "And I can't make that decision on basically taxes of any type and also on energy and climate. But I'm not going to do something, and overreach, that causes more problems."
"He is insisting once again, despite all evidence to the contrary, that fellow Democrats should trust him," Jim Manley, a former top Democratic aide to Sen. Harry Reid, told Insider. "He's repeatedly moved the goalposts, then denied it. Now it's left to Democrats to pick up the pieces."
Manchin's opposition to quickly approving climate measures inflamed fellow Democrats. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said in a statement that it's "infuriating" and "nothing short of tragic that Senator Manchin is walking away, again, from taking essential action on climate and clean energy."
Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, chair of the moderate-leaning New Democratic Caucus, compared the chaotic negotiations to "Lucy and the football" in which Peanuts character Lucy van Pelt pulls the football away from Charlie Brown as he runs up to kick it.
"I'm extremely frustrated," DelBene told Insider, adding Democrats must demonstrate they're capable of governing and providing financial relief to families. "Talk isn't helping, action is what can help. And Senator Manchin also has to focus on getting things done, not just talking."
Because Democrats have a razor-thin majority — and Republicans have signaled no willingness to vote with them on a spending plan that would raise taxes on the richest Americans — they've attempted to pass this legislation through reconciliation.
That's given Manchin and fellow centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema enormous influence dictating the future of legislation as Democrats scrambled for their votes. When Manchin pronounced Build Back Better dead in December, Democrats largely abandoned efforts to revive it until late spring.
So, without Manchin, not much climate action can be taken in Congress right now — something that Biden seems acutely aware of.
"So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment," Biden said, adding: "I will not back down: the opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent."