On Wednesday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced his intention to only approve of Joe Biden’s judicial nominees if at least one Republican supports them.
“Just one Republican. That’s all I’m asking for. Give me something bipartisan. This is my own little filibuster. If they can’t get one Republican, I vote for none. I’ve told [Democrats] that. I said, ‘I’m sick and tired of it; I can’t take it anymore,’” Manchin told Politico.
Though seemingly trivial, this stance holds significant weight and already may derail the nomination of Adeel Mangi to an appeals court. Multiple law enforcement groups, including the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Association of Police Organizations, have voiced opposition to Mangi due to his ties with the Alliance of Families for Justice. Additionally, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) has already declared her opposition against his nomination, which no Republican yet supports.
“If they don’t have a Republican, I’m opposing. That’s my way of saying: 'I’m leaving this place, I’ve tried everything I can. Don’t tell me you can’t get one.' If you’ve got a decent person you can at least get one. Just go ask Lisa [Murkowski], go ask Susan [Collins], even Lindsey [Graham],” Manchin told Politico. “Lisa and Susan both are not controlled by just voting party line, I know that. But you’ve got to ask them.”
Related: How Competitive Is the Ohio Senate Race?
In November, Manchin announced he would not seek reelection in 2024 as it was clear he would not get reelected. Despite his ability to defy the odds and win as a Democrat in a conservative state, his margin of victory had been on a declining trend. After winning by 24 points in 2012, he only barely won reelection six years later. Before Manchin dropped out, Gov. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) had a significant double-digit lead in the polls.
Manchin claimed to be concerned with the partisan nature of the Senate, which may be true, but despite his reputation as a centrist, he was anything but. Despite his reputation as a “moderate” or “independent” voice, Manchin has voted with Joe Biden on approximately 88% of legislation and, up until now, has supported the confirmation of all of Biden’s judicial nominees, including controversial figures like Ketanji Brown Jackson, despite her radical views on critical race theory and her support for child sex offenders.
Manchin chose not to seek reelection because the writing was on the wall and because his voting behavior was deeply out of step with that of his constituents. It seems to me that had Manchin been more of a real centrist, voting with Biden closer to half the time and not being a blanket ‘Aye’ vote for his judicial nominees, he may have had a real chance of being reelected this year.
Where was this “little filibuster” three years ago? It may have saved his career. Had Manchin lived up to his centrist reputation, I’m sure things would be much different today. But in reality, he was only marginally less leftist than most in his party, which means that the only person he should blame for the fact that he’s retiring is himself.
