Sen. Joe Manchin\u2002(D-W.Va.) is becoming a bigger problem for President Biden\u2002and Democrats in the Senate as he faces an uphill reelection battle in West Virginia, a state where former President Trump won one of his biggest victories in 2020.
Manchin has criticized Biden and Democrats publicly, opposed various nominees and, this week, said he would oppose every one of the president\u2019s nominations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Before an election in which Biden is casting himself as a centrist and stable choice for the country, Manchin accused his EPA nominees of pursuing an \u201cextreme ideology\u201d and panned the administration\u2019s plan to limit greenhouse pollution from existing power plants.
The shots from inside the party are exactly what Biden doesn\u2019t want as he tries to unify Democrats ahead of the 2024 race \u2014 all at a time when polls show his support from the public is decidedly underwhelming.
\u201cHe is giving the administration fits, and I think \u2026 he probably feels like they have it coming,\u201d said Sen. Kevin Cramer\u2002(R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). \u201cThey threw him under the bus with the [Inflation Reduction Act] and permitting stuff, and it looks to me he\u2019s demonstrating a pretty serious effort to point that out.\u201d
\u201cHe can hold whatever he wants, as we all can, and make it very difficult for them to advance nominees,\u201d Cramer added. \u201cAnd I say good for him. He deserves some concessions.\u201d
When pressed on whether Biden has reached out to Manchin since he said he would oppose the EPA nominees, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, \u201cSen. Manchin is a friend.\u201d
\u201cWe are going to continue to have conversations with him. We\u2019re going to continue to have a good relationship,\u201d she added.
Sen. Tom Carper\u2002(D-Del.), chairman of the EPW Committee, told The Hill he was hoping to talk with Manchin about his opposition to \u201cconvince him that he may want to rethink that position\u201d and to \u201cfind favor\u201d with some of the nominees, present and future.
\u201cI understand that sometimes we get upset, whether it\u2019s this administration or another administration,\u201d Carper said.
With Biden\u2019s legislative priorities unable to get past the GOP-controlled House, he is looking toward successful confirmations as something to tout on the campaign trail. But Manchin\u2019s threat to hold up nominees, when Democrats have such a narrow majority in the Senate, casts a shadow over Biden\u2019s agenda.
As Cramer noted, Manchin could still go further. The West Virginia senator chairs the Senate Energy Committee and could hold up nominees who come before that panel, as well.
Allies of Manchin argue the latest maneuvers fit squarely with his oft-stated line that he is standing up for his state.
\u201cManchin has been fighting the EPA since the day he got in the Senate. Remember, this is the guy who shot the cap and trade bill because he\u2019s standing up for West Virginia,\u201d said Jon Kott, a lobbyist and a former top aide to Manchin. \u201cThis is nothing new.\u201d
The White House noted this week, after Machin\u2019s announcement about the EPA nominees, the Biden administration has been able to move forward on historic pieces of legislation with Manchin, citing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the infrastructure law.
But Manchin has long been a thorn in Biden\u2019s side.
He was indeed a major player in getting the IRA passed last year, but the final version he negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was smaller than the Democrats\u2019 original vision.
And just last month, the senator threatened to support repealing it over some energy policies. Manchin has also joined Republicans numerous times this year in voting to overturn environmental regulations put in place by the Biden administration \u2014 efforts the president will veto.
Manchin is among the top targets of Republicans to defeat this cycle, and he likely realizes he has work to do back home after the IRA passed. According to a Morning Consult survey taken last month, Manchin has the lowest approval rating of any Senate Democrat.
Due to his state of political peril and a potential general election battle with West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), some Democrats believe they should let Manchin do whatever he can to hold his seat.
\u201cAnyone who truly understands politics knows how challenging it is to be a Democrat in West Virginia at this time. In order to win his reelection, Sen. Manchin has calculated that he needs to be in a full-blown war against his own party to show his independence, and if Democrats want to keep that seat, they need to be okay with that,\u201d said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and a top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
At present, only two EPA nominations would be affected by Manchin\u2019s stance: Joe Goffman to head the air office and David Uhlmann to run the enforcement office. Both were voted out of the EPW Committee last month.
Some Republicans found the timing of the announcement curious. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced her return to Washington on the same day, meaning Democrats would once again have their one-seat buffer if Manchin or anyone else in their caucus opposes a nominee.
\u201cInteresting that Manchin waited until Feinstein returned to get tough on EPA [nominations]. Allows him to vote with [Republicans] but the [nominations] will likely still be confirmed,\u201d said Doug Andres, a top press aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
And some Democrats are brushing off the problems Manchin is giving Biden.
\u201cDemocratic politics are messy. In a strange way, I think this is pretty normal and there is some very hard work ahead for Manchin and Biden to get reelected,\u201d said Ivan Zapien, a Democratic lobbyist and former Democratic National Committee official. \u201cBoth are extraordinary politicians, and even though they may clash often, they know it\u2019s not personal and the goal is to win reelection, not to look organized and in harmony.\u201d
John LaBombard, a former communications director to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), said Manchin is a rare Democrat who can win statewide in West Virginia because he acts first for his constituents, not the party.
The president\u2019s path to reelection is a different path than some of our incumbent senators, and we\u2019ll all have to agree to be a bigger tent than we have been in recent years if we want to keep Donald Trump out of the White House and Mitch McConnell from becoming majority leader,\u201d said LaBombard, a senior vice president at Rokk Solutions.
However, Manchin is receiving backup from across the aisle who are cheering on his every move, especially on the climate front.
\u201cSen. Manchin and I are like-minded on the clean power plan, so I think he can\u2019t push it far enough,\u201d said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the EPW panel\u2019s ranking member. \u201cSo more power to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n