Joe Manchin on Thursday rejected Senate Democrats’ proposed energy and climate investments, as well as their goals of increasing taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, according to a Democrat briefed on the discussions.
Instead the West Virginia senator said “unequivocally” during a meeting with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that he will only support reducing drug prices and a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies as components of a party-line bill designed to evade a filibuster, the person said.
Manchin’s rejection at the meeting, first reported by the Washington Post, blew up weeks of discussions over a larger legislative package. It leaves just a slim health-care focused bill as an option for Democrats who have long hoped to send far more expansive legislation to President Joe Biden’s back before the midterms.
