Joe Manchin Says He Won’t Support Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill

Joe Manchin Says He Won’t Support Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is urging his party to “hit the pause button” and scale back its multitrillion-dollar spending proposal dealing with climate, health care, immigration and more, presenting yet another complication for Democratic leaders as they race to pass the bill in coming weeks.

“Let’s sit back. Let’s see what happens,” Manchin said at a Wednesday event hosted by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “We have so much on our plate. We really have an awful lot. I think that would be the prudent, wise thing to do.”

During the event and in a subsequent op-ed published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, Manchin cited the risk of “runaway inflation” and national security implications following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as reasons to hit the brakes on the proposed $3.5 trillion “human” infrastructure package.