The Manchin roadblock in Biden’s agenda

1 00:00:00,120 –> 00:00:06,000 >> The big news with Biden’s legislative agenda is that the president has started to get personally involved 2 00:00:06,000 –> 00:00:11,670 in the lobbying effort and one of the first people he has brought into the White House is 3 00:00:11,670 –> 00:00:12,660 Joe Manchin. 4 00:00:12,660 –> 00:00:24,430 >> So this week we’re going to break down Joe Manchin as role in the Democratic Party. 5 00:00:25,330 –> 00:00:31,120 >> Joe Manchin is always at the center and he is again there when 6 00:00:31,120 –> 00:00:37,240 it comes to the reconciliation package which really has the bulk of the domestic 7 00:00:37,240 –> 00:00:43,090 policies that Joe Biden campaigned on the most important thing to know about Joe Manchin Manchin is 8 00:00:43,090 –> 00:00:49,510 he’s a senator from West Virginia and he won his last election in 2018 with 9 00:00:49,510 –> 00:00:55,090 just forty nine point six percent of the vote. Democrats have not won West Virginia 10 00:00:55,090 –> 00:00:58,710 at the presidential level since 1996. 11 00:00:58,720 –> 00:01:04,840 >> So when you see him take a position remember it is always about West Virginia politics and 12 00:01:04,840 –> 00:01:10,720 his future in that state. His brand is about positioning himself in the center and positioning himself 13 00:01:10,720 –> 00:01:16,450 against the progressives in the Democratic Party. To be fair it’s not just Joe Manchin Kirsten 14 00:01:16,450 –> 00:01:22,010 cinema senator from Arizona has similar issues with the reconciliation package. 15 00:01:22,030 –> 00:01:27,460 >> She’s also meeting with Joe Biden this week and there’s a group of moderate Democrats in 16 00:01:27,460 –> 00:01:32,980 the House of Representatives led by Josh got him of New Jersey who have also raised all sorts of 17 00:01:32,980 –> 00:01:38,440 issues that they don’t like in the reconciliation bill but because the Democrats have a 50 18 00:01:38,440 –> 00:01:44,140 50 Senate and they need all 50 of their members to get on board with the reconciliation 19 00:01:44,140 –> 00:01:44,740 package. 20 00:01:44,740 –> 00:01:50,080 >> Manchin who is often pretty vocal and public he will not have my vote 21 00:01:50,080 –> 00:01:56,020 on three point five and Chuck knows that. And we’ve talked about this has really become the face of 22 00:01:56,020 –> 00:02:01,630 the moderate Democrat holding up the progressive wish list that 23 00:02:01,630 –> 00:02:07,060 Biden has proposed. What are the big issues that Manchin is holding up 24 00:02:07,060 –> 00:02:12,550 when it comes to the Biden agenda. Well frankly every week it seems like there 25 00:02:12,550 –> 00:02:18,070 is a new one but here the main one so far. One the overall 26 00:02:18,070 –> 00:02:22,210 size of the of the package three and a half trillion dollars. 27 00:02:22,210 –> 00:02:27,640 >> Manchin started this negotiation by saying that number would have to come down in 28 00:02:27,640 –> 00:02:33,190 order to get his vote. He hasn’t stated publicly what he wants. There has been some 29 00:02:33,190 –> 00:02:38,680 reporting that suggests he wants it. And the one point five trillion dollar range. The second 30 00:02:38,680 –> 00:02:43,810 piece of mansion’s list of asks is about climate. 31 00:02:43,810 –> 00:02:49,210 Joe Manchin is the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that 32 00:02:49,210 –> 00:02:55,360 is the committee that will write some of the most important pieces of the package 33 00:02:55,360 –> 00:02:59,350 of climate policies that Joe Biden has proposed. 34 00:02:59,350 –> 00:03:04,780 >> He recently threw a pretty significant landmine into the Democrats climate agenda by 35 00:03:04,780 –> 00:03:10,480 saying he opposes a policy called the Clean Electricity 36 00:03:10,480 –> 00:03:17,020 performance program basically billions of dollars over the next 10 years to pay utilities 37 00:03:17,020 –> 00:03:21,340 to transfer to clean sources of energy. 38 00:03:21,370 –> 00:03:26,560 >> Makes no sense to me at all for us to take billions of dollars and pay utilities for what they’re going to do as 39 00:03:26,560 –> 00:03:27,610 the market transitions. 40 00:03:27,610 –> 00:03:33,610 >> Manchin has also raised some concerns about the taxes that would be raised to 41 00:03:33,610 –> 00:03:39,550 pay for the package. Here he’s been a little less specific but basically wants to ratchet back 42 00:03:39,550 –> 00:03:45,100 some of the Biden and Bernie proposals on how much to increase the corporate 43 00:03:45,100 –> 00:03:50,500 tax rate and rates on individuals. He is 44 00:03:50,500 –> 00:03:56,050 squeezing this three point five trillion dollar proposal both on the revenue side and 45 00:03:56,050 –> 00:03:57,280 on the spending side. 46 00:03:57,310 –> 00:04:03,310 >> Finally he opposed the Democrats original voting rights legislation after 47 00:04:03,310 –> 00:04:08,530 opposing that. He got together with a group of Democratic senators and they have put 48 00:04:08,530 –> 00:04:13,900 together an alternative package a compromise package that now has the support of all 50 49 00:04:13,900 –> 00:04:19,690 Democrats in the US Senate. This package can’t pass unless it has 60 votes 50 00:04:19,690 –> 00:04:25,090 . It is exceedingly unlikely that Manchin is going to succeed in finding 10 51 00:04:25,090 –> 00:04:28,660 Republicans to support this Manchin has laid out a series of demands. 52 00:04:28,660 –> 00:04:33,880 >> There may be more coming. And there are a couple of options the 53 00:04:33,880 –> 00:04:39,850 Biden administration has. They can of course negotiate with him and pare back some of their key proposals 54 00:04:39,850 –> 00:04:45,400 if they really diluted the climate policies. 55 00:04:45,400 –> 00:04:51,880 They could very easily have a revolt on their hands every inch 56 00:04:51,880 –> 00:04:57,310 that Biden gives to Manchin risks the loss of some progressives on the left. 57 00:04:57,310 –> 00:05:02,590 So that is the delicate challenge that the White House has in coming up 58 00:05:02,590 –> 00:05:08,890 with the largest package they possibly can. That also gains 59 00:05:08,890 –> 00:05:10,570 support from. 60 00:05:11,650 –> 00:05:17,230 >> Every Democrat from Bernie Sanders to Manchin and how they 61 00:05:17,230 –> 00:05:22,430 figure that out will be the source a lot of drama and 62 00:05:22,430 –> 00:05:28,280 intrigue over the coming weeks as the reconciliation bill nears 63 00:05:28,280 –> 00:05:30,560 completion and comes up for a vote.

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