Did Senator Manchin break his commitment? Joe Biden doesn’t have an answer

The rift between the Joes has exposed the differences between the Democratic party. On Tuesday, after his omicron address, when Joe Biden was asked if Senator Manchin broke his commitment by announcing his no-vote for the Build Back Better plan, the President did not have an answer. 

“Senator Manchin and I are going to get something done,” Biden said when he was asked by the press if the conservative democrat had broken his commitment. The very next moment, the President stepped away and took no other questions. 

Also read: Biden pledges 500 mn home tests, 1000 military doctors to be deployed for help

Biden joked that he holds no grudges against Manchin whose rejection of the social services and climate change bill stunned Washington just days ago.

The President, after his address, spoke about the families that would benefit from the approximately $2 trillion initiative. 

This was Biden’s first public statement on the matter. 

With his announcement, to not vote for the Build Back Better plan, Manchin essentially crushed Biden’s sweeping policy measure in the 50-50 Senate, siding with all Republicans who oppose the bill.

Also read: Biden says getting vaccinated is patriotic duty, rules out lockdown

Biden spoke of the “dignity of a parent” trying to pay the bills, and the assistance millions could receive from the federal government with the legislation.

But the Democrats face serious questions over whether the $2 trillion initiative can be refashioned to win his crucial vote or the party will be saddled with a devastating defeat.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed on Monday that the chamber would vote early in the new year on Biden’s “Build Back Better Act” as it now stands so every senator “has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.” That was a biting reference to Manchin’s sudden TV announcement against the bill on Sunday.

Also read: Bernie Sanders blasts Joe Manchin’s opposition to Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act

Biden and Manchin spoke later Sunday, according to a person familiar with the call, first reported by Politico. It was cordial and respectful, said the person who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

“We’re going to work like hell to get it done,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, repeating the phrase several times at a Monday briefing but never saying how.

With inputs from the Associated Press