The White House slams Joe Manchin and charges him with 'a sudden and inexplicable reversal' for effectively sinking Biden's social spending bill
Joseph Zeballos-Roig,John L. Dorman | Publié le | Mis à jour le
- The White House ripped Manchin for opposing Biden's spending bill on Sunday.
- Psaki said it amounted to a "sudden and inexplicable reversal" in his position.
- Democrats can't approve the bill without Manchin's vote in the 50-50 Senate.
The White House is taking the gloves off with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
On Sunday, a statement from White House press secretary Jen Psaki assailed Manchin and accused him of breaking his word with President Joe Biden.
"If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator's colleagues in the House and Senate," Psaki said in the statement.
Psaki added that Manchin had personally handed Biden a $1.8 trillion framework that he indicated could get his backing. But they would continue pressing Manchin to see if he'd backtrack from his position once again.
Manchin on Sunday announced that he was opposed to President Joe Biden's $2 trillion social spending bill in a Fox News interview, effectively dooming the centerpiece of the president's economic agenda.
The White House earlier in the week said it was having "productive" discussions with Manchin. But now it's clear that the negotiations were going nowhere with the conservative Democrat.
Psaki in her statement spoke of several provisions in the social-spending bill that would not be realized if Manchin continued in his opposition to the bill, while also pointing out the Child Tax Credit which is set to expire at the end of the year.
"Senator Manchin will have to explain to those families paying $1,000 a month for insulin why they need to keep paying that, instead of $35 for that vital medicine. He will have to explain to the nearly two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work why he opposes a plan to get them the help they need," the statement read.
She continued: "Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone — we cannot."
Manchin's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story has been updated.
Via PakApNews