The Joe Manchin show was on full display Sunday when the West Virginia senator defended the deal he made on the reconciliation package but remained silent on whether Democrats should stay in power in November or whether he supports a second term for President Biden.
Just as he has been for most of the past year, Manchin was the perennial Democrat on Sunday when he participated in five television interviews days after he and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) shocked everyone with the deal, heard ” around the Hill He did so in support of the $670 billion climate, health care and tax package, hailing it as a tool to fight inflation, despite reports suggesting the opposite may be true.
“How on earth can he be inflammatory?” Manchin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “How can it add flames to the inflationary fires right now if you’re paying down debt, increasing more fossil fuel energy production, and we’re doing it cleaner [than] Everywhere in the world?”
“This is not a green deal. This is not a Republican agreement. This is not a Democrat deal. It’s red, white and blue. And that’s what the American people want, solutions and a balanced energy approach,” Manchin continued.
▪ The Hill: Manchin defends climate, tax deal with Schumer in multishow blitz.
▪ CNN: Manchin says Republicans in ‘normal times’ would support energy and health care bills.
The centrist Democrat noted that the plan would invest in reliable energy and new technologies, focusing on domestic manufacturing for “aggressive manufacturing” in the US and lower costs for Americans. However, “But in all of this, they don’t consider any of that,” he claims (The Hill).
As for the tax increases included in the bill — a new 15 percent minimum tax on large profitable corporations — Manchin argued that they are not actually tax increases. Instead, he defended them as loopholes (The Wall Street Journal).
However, the issue of raising taxes could be a problem for Sen. Kirsten Sinema. The Arizona Democrat has made it clear over the past year that he opposes an element of the legislation that would have closed the carried interest loophole. She has refused to intervene in the bill since it was published.
The bottom line: Sinema is one of the last hopes for Republicans as they hope to defeat this bill.
“She has a backbone of steel. It will not be easily twisted,” Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), a member of the GOP leadership, told Fox News on Sunday. “In terms of whether this is going to pass, they need all 50 Democrats on board and in the room. … They haven’t had 50 senators show up for work in over a month. So this is far from done.
Barrasso is referring to the effect that COVID-19 has had on the chamber in recent weeks, as at least a handful of Democrats have tested positive for the virus, including Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), who will miss this week’s opening while in quarantine.
Everything is expected to fall into place this week. Schumer and top Democrats will try to push the bill through the upper chamber before senators leave for recess in August.
▪ The Hill: Manchin says Sinema didn’t participate in bill negotiations because he “didn’t think they would come to fruition.”
▪ Politico: Manchin to Sinema: Believe in this bill.
▪ The Hill: This week: Senate Democrats race to finish tax and climate package — if Sinema signs on.
▪ Bloomberg News: Manchin’s spending deal includes billions in oil sector taxes.
While Manchin defended the package, one thing he didn’t particularly defend was the Democratic Party’s prospects for success in the midterm elections, as he declined to say whether his party should retain control beyond November.
“I think the Democrats have great candidates running. They are good people I have worked with. And I have tremendous respect and friendship with my fellow Republicans. … So I can work both sides very easily.” Manchin told Meet the Press. However, he declined to comment on any hopes he has for the midterms.
“I don’t play politics like that. I don’t like it that way. That’s not me,” he said (The Hill).
He also sidestepped whether he hopes Biden will run for a second term.
“I’m not going into 2022 or 2024,” he said, adding “whoever is my president, that’s my president” (Associated Press).
Amid Manchin’s comments, the White House had a different agenda Sunday: Republicans for blocking a bill last week aimed at helping veterans exposed to toxic burns.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough argued that the GOP senators’ proposed amendments to the proposal would result in a “distribution of care for vets.”
The bill fell by five votes after only eight Republicans joined all 47 Democrats who voted. GOP senators accused Democrats of including a “budget gimmick” in funding the bill (The Hill).
The Hill: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who is retiring this year, defended the burn vote, citing “false allegations” from Jon Stewart.
🌏 Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is in Singapore today, where she is expected to meet with President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as well as a number of cabinet ministers. No media access to her visit (Associated Press). She announced Sunday that she also plans to travel to Malaysia, South Korea and Japan during the congressional trip to “reaffirm America’s strong and unwavering commitment to our allies and friends in the region.” Taiwan was excluded from her itinerary, possibly for security reasons. Her plans for the island nation, which would anger China if she visited, have not been made public. “It is my privilege as Speaker to lead this distinguished group of members, which includes jurisdictional committee and subcommittee chairs and advocates for a strong US-Asia-Pacific partnership,” Pelosi said in a press release. “We look forward to productive meetings that will continue to inform the work of Congress to advance our values and interests and strengthen our partnerships in the region” (Axios).
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▪ The Hill: The Manchin-Schumer bill could reduce the deficit. Inflation – this is controversial, say experts.
▪ The New York Times: Biden Enjoys Much-Needed Wins. But will the highs eclipse the lows?
▪ The Hill: Bipartisan antibiotic bill faces crucial stretch.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Senate tax-climate plan hinges on streamlining energy projects.
LEADING THE DAY
➤ POLICY
Sunday marks 100 days until the midterm elections, and Republicans find themselves firmly in the driver’s seat to win back at least one chamber of Congress in an effort to wrest some of the Democratic Party’s power back.
A new estimate released by CBS News on Sunday predicts Republicans will pick up a total of 16 seats in November, giving them a total of 230 to just 205 for the governing party. Each party needs 218 seats to win a majority.
According to the network, the main reason voters are leaning toward the Republican Party is “the way things are in the country,” led by rising costs and inflation that are forcing families to save money and make tough financial decisions. Among voters who say they base their vote on that, Republicans lead by 16 points.
Adding to the problems, key parts of the Democratic Party electorate may be on the sidelines in just over three months. Of those expected to turn out, 38 percent are expected to be Republicans, 34 percent Democrats and 27 percent independents, marking a four-point change from 2018, when Democrats regained their majority in the House of Representatives.
Another key factor heading into November is how primary races play out over the next two months, including in five states that will vote Tuesday: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington.
▪ Mike Lillis, The Hill: Democrats are fighting each other to help pro-Trump GOP candidates.
▪ Josh Kraushaar, Axios: The left is losing momentum.
▪ The Hill: 11 races we’re watching in Tuesday’s primary.
▪ Associated Press: What to watch for primaries in Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere.
© Associated Press / Sue Ogroki | “I Voted” stickers at an early voting location in Oklahoma, June 23.
In the Show Me State, Republicans are in the midst of their latest push to slam the door on former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) and his chances of winning the GOP Senate nomination on Tuesday.
Central to that effort is an on-air barrage from an anti-Greitens super PAC highlighting allegations of domestic violence against the disgraced former governor. As The Hill’s Max Greenwood notes, top Republican donors — including Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) — are pouring into the effort, hoping to deliver one final blow to his candidacy.
According to recent polls, it works. Multiple polls show state Attorney General Eric Schmidt (R) has jumped to the top of the race, with Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo.) trailing in second place.
▪ The Hill: Why Texas Democrats feel a sense of deja vu.
▪ Hannah Trudeau, The Hill: How Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) is taking on Mehmet Oz with an “irreverent,” exclusively online campaign.
On the stage in 2024, former President Trump continues to openly flirt with a third bid for the White House. But there are skeptics in the Senate GOP ranks about whether the former president can win the party’s nomination for a third straight term for two reasons: the damage from the Jan. 6 investigation and how formidable the 2024 Republican field is shaping up to be.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is not…
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