This Democratic Senator Is Going To War With His Own Party Ahead Of 2024 Election...

Manchin, a vulnerable Democrat who faces re-election in 2024 in a staunchly Republican state, has been increasingly diverging from the party line, despite not having announced whether he will run for re-election in 2024.

While most Senate Democrats support President Joe Biden's opposition to negotiating with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the debt ceiling, Manchin continues to call on the President to pursue a different course of action.

In a statement on Thursday evening, Manchin said, "The clock is ticking on this debt ceiling crisis and the American people will pay the economic price if President Biden continues to refuse to sit down and negotiate a commonsense compromise that would prevent a historic default."

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He continued, "Speaker McCarthy did his job and he passed a bill that would prevent default and finally begin to rein in federal spending. While I do not agree with everything proposed, it remains the only bill moving through Congress that would prevent default and that cannot be ignored."

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April 28, 2023

Earlier in the week, during an appearance on Sean Hannity's show, Manchin threatened to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act if the administration persisted in "liberalizing what we are supposed to invest in over the next 10 years." He emphasized his commitment to "everything in his power to prevent that from happening."

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Manchin has expressed frustration with the implementation of the legislation. As the Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, he threatened to sue the Biden administration last month after the Treasury Department unveiled more stringent electric vehicle tax rules, which he criticized as insufficient.

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This week, another rift between the West Virginia Democrat and the leader of his party over energy policy surfaced when Manchin joined Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) in co-sponsoring a bill that would reinstate solar power tariffs suspended by Biden.

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In a statement, Manchin said, "The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar." He added, "I cannot fathom why the Administration and Congress would consider extending that reliance any longer and am proud to join this CRA to rescind the rule."

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Senate Democrats and President Biden have been cautious about criticizing Manchin directly. On Wednesday, when asked about Manchin's threat to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) avoided addressing the issue directly. Instead, Schumer said, "Look, the bottom line is our caucus is overwhelmingly for the Inflation Reduction Act."

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This week, Manchin did vote with his party to advance the Equal Rights Amendment legislation on Thursday, a resolution to remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed amendment to the Constitution.

However, the resolution failed with a 51-47 vote, and the West Virginia senator cast his vote when it was evident that the resolution would not pass. Some Republicans in West Virginia expect Manchin to continue diverging from his party as speculation grows about his potential re-election bid.

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Rob Cornelius, a longtime GOP campaign consultant in West Virginia, said, "Anything that keeps him in the public eye the most, I think he assumes the more attention is good attention." Cornelius added, "He has to buck the party to keep happy the voters he thinks will come home to him in West Virginia, who are now Republicans or Democrats who supported Trump by the hundreds of thousands. He says he can get those people back to trust him again, and the problem is he's gone both ways on so many issues."

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Cornelius continued, "Now, he wants the credit, you know, when the alleged Inflation Reduction Act brings in a zillion dollars, but then he wants to say he doesn't support it when it's clear it could hurt his constituents. He wants to take all the credit and not take any of the blame."

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Despite the speculation surrounding the 2024 race, Manchin has maintained that his recent decisions are unrelated to the election and has expressed confidence in his prospects. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Manchin said, "Every opponent you have is strong and threatening, or they wouldn't jump in if they didn't think they had a chance, so you take them all seriously." He added, "I lost one race in 1996. I made a vow that I'll never lose another race."

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In the coming weeks, Manchin will have more opportunities to challenge the administration, including the nomination of Julie Su as labor secretary. With Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) ongoing absence and all Republicans expected to vote against Su's nomination, Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote. Although Manchin is scheduled to meet with Su next week, he has already indicated concerns about her nomination.

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Last month, Gigi Sohn, Biden's choice for the top telecommunications regulator at the Federal Communications Commission, withdrew her nomination after Manchin said he would oppose it.

Jon Kott, a former communications director, and senior adviser to Manchin, suggested that the increased attention on Manchin's disagreements with Biden and Democratic leadership is due to the approaching 2024 Senate race but that nothing has fundamentally changed.

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Kott said, "This is no different than he's been in the 10 or 12 years I've known him. He looks at an issue, [and] he decides if it works for West Virginia. Remember, he's a red state Democrat — very different from being, you know, a Connecticut Democrat or a Delaware Democrat."

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Kott added, "His view is based on 'Does it help West Virginia?' And if it does, he'll vote for it. It just so happens people start paying attention around election time and they dig into stuff, but this is exactly how he acts every day of the year."