Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) declined to talk about President Biden’s Build Back Better bill on Tuesday, saying there is “no negotiation going on at this time.”
Manchin’s comment, reported by Politico’s Burgess Everett, seems to contradict reporting from Axios earlier this week that the senator is open to reengaging on the climate and child care provisions in the massive social spending package if the White House removes the enhanced child tax credit or dramatically lowers the income caps for eligible families.
“I’m really not going to talk about Build Back Better … there is no negotiation going on at this time,” Manchin says.
This sounds like it’s in pretty bad shape
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 4, 2022
The reports come weeks after Manchin announced on December 19 that he “cannot vote to continue with” the nearly $2 trillion social spending plan, dashing Democrats’ hopes that the moderate Democrat could be persuaded to support the bill.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” Manchin said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
“You’re done — this is a no,” host Bret Baier said.
“This is a no, on this legislation,” Manchin responded. “I have tried everything I know to do.”
At the time, Manchin suggested that lawmakers should instead focus on other issues such as Covid, inflation and the $29 trillion federal debt.
Axios suggested that a possible solution to get Manchin back on board would be to remove the child tax credit from the Build Back Better legislation, noting that Manchin is still concerned with the size and scope of the package and that he continues to tell colleagues he is concerned about the inflationary effects of so much government spending.
The report added that Biden and Manchin spoke by phone the evening of Manchin’s announcement and the pair agreed to continue to talk. Manchin reportedly stayed in touch with senior White House officials over the holidays.