After angering Republicans and Independents for voting for President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Joe Manchin is looking like the Senate’s most conservative Democrat yet again.
The West Virginia senator gave a speech on the floor to tweak the party on the national debt, voted with Republicans on a rebuke of key Biden policies, partnered with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on the legislation, and criticized Biden’s Cabinet officials. He even refused to identify himself as a Democrat in television interviews, preferring the description “the American.”
Manchin found that moderate mojo amid speculation about his political future. The notoriously obscure senator has left everyone wondering whether he will run for re-election next year, even as Republicans line up to take him on in red states that voted for Donald Trump.
Asked again this week whether he would seek re-election, Manchin said he said he would only “join.” in what? He refused to speak.
In true Manchin fashion, the senator rejected the notion that he was veering to the right ahead of a possible bid for another term during an interview with HuffPost. Instead, he remains focused on the things Americans care about most, such as improving the federal response to dangerous derailments, including the recent one in East Palestine, Ohio, near his home state of West Virginia.
“This is a legitimate thing,” Manchin told HuffPost. “Look at my voting record. I’m not tacking anywhere. I immediately went from here to there.”
Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Manchin this week helped Republicans pass a resolution that would have repealed a Biden administration rule that encouraged efforts to invest in environmentally conscious or ethical ways, making it the first veto of a Biden presidency. He accused the administration of prioritizing “a liberal policy agenda to protect and enhance the retirement accounts of 150 million Americans.”
The senator was also an early Democratic supporter of the GOP-led effort to roll back changes to the District of Columbia’s criminal code. This has sparked outrage and opposition over provisions that reduce maximum sentences for crimes like carjacking and murder. He appeared to be one of the few Democrats who supported the effort until Biden surprised Washington by announcing plans to sign the measure into law, which would repeal the DC law for the first time in three decades.
Last month, Manchin co-sponsored legislation with Cruz that would prevent the administration from banning the use of gas stoves even though there are no plans to ban them.
He’s also had plenty of tough words for Democrats in recent weeks. He told me CNN Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “doesn’t get high marks right now,” joining GOP criticism after the administration’s handling of the East Palestine train derailment. And he has beaten Democratic leaders on his stance against negotiating with Republicans on the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
“My fellow Democrats don’t want to talk about out-of-control spending and flatly refuse to talk to Republicans about reasonable and responsible reform,” Manchin said in a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, urging Democrats to agree to budget cuts in return. -in exchange for raising the debt limit.
Republicans view Manchin’s seat as one of the party’s best election opportunities in 2024. A new poll by a group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) finds Manchin trailing in a hypothetical matchup against West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice , who is considering jumping into the race. (This poll may have been designed to push Justice to do so).
If they can flip West Virginia, Republicans will have a better chance of capturing the Senate majority after their disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, suggested that vulnerable Democrats like Manchin do everything that can make life easier in the coming year.
“Most of these votes show today’s vote because President Biden will veto it,” Daines told HuffPost Democrats who have joined the GOP’s efforts to overturn Biden’s policies. “I kind of laugh watching this foxhole conversion because people are thinking about re-election.”
Democrats face a brutal map next year, and Manchin’s decision to stay put will give the party the best chance to retain the majority. Although he may be a sore thorn in his side, Manchin’s friends hope he doesn’t float his ship away from DC forever.
“I will do everything in my power to convince people to stick around,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told HuffPost. “I know he makes progressives angry, but he always reminds me that if progressives want a more progressive senator elected, they should vote for a more progressive senator. Joe is a centrist. He always has been.