It’s easy to forget sometimes considering all the vitriol directed at Senator Joe Manchin that he’s a Democrat through and through and would dearly love to see his president, Joe Biden, succeed.
That’s why we shouldn’t be surprised that Manchin has taken the initiative and is talking with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a slimmed-down Build Back Better bill that would include action on climate change, energy, and deficit reduction.
If Manchin and Schumer can come to some kind of agreement, the chances of passage would rise dramatically. It wouldn’t be a slam dunk, to be sure. Radicals like Bernie Sanders may prefer to blow up the legislation and sacrifice the good for the perfect.
But to help Biden and Democrats’ chances to limit their losses in the midterms, even radicals might recognize the potential upside and vote it through.
As Manchin and Schumer try to repair a strained relationship, their staffs have been making progress on the contours of a climate and deficit reduction package, according to people familiar with the matter.
Manchin called those preliminary talks “respectful” and “encouraging, to a certain extent.”
“There could be nothing,” Manchin told us in an interview. “There could be truly nothing. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Chuck has a very, very difficult job,” Manchin added. “The trust that I have, it’s his ability to be able to move 48 or 49 other people.”
Manchin noted he has not engaged directly with President Biden.
To make matters even more troubling, Manchin told a group of Senators that he was willing to back a tax increase on the wealthy if no other revenue could be found.
Manchin this week told a bipartisan group of senators with whom he’s been negotiating over a climate and energy security bill that he’s prepared to back tax increases in a Democrat-only bill if the bipartisan group can’t agree to any additional revenue.
Manchin told Axios he understands why some Republican senators might conclude that a Democrat-only reconciliation package is his “ace in the hole,” giving him more leverage in the bipartisan talks.
That left some senators thinking that Manchin may be closer to a deal with Schumer than they suspected and that he can jump tracks if he reaches an agreement.
If it happens, it’s likely to happen suddenly. To head off Democratic opposition, Schumer may claim this is a “downpayment” on climate change funds and press the reconciliation process to prevent any radical opposition to coalesce.
But we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. It will happen because Joe Manchin is still a Democrat and wants his party to do well.
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