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Sen. Joe Manchin tells Democrats his final vote is NO in support of the Build Back Better Plan, Schumer vows to vote on the plan in early 2022, and Biden appoints a record number of federal judges.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has effectively ended the hopes of Democrats to pass their Build Back Better Plan, citing concerns over inflation and fiscal responsibility and announcing he will not support the social spending and climate package, which by some estimates, comes with a price tag of nearly $5 trillion.
Manchin had previously proposed a $1.7 trillion price tag, but New York Post reported that the bill totals nearly $5 trillion, and would add at least $367 billion to the federal deficit.
During an interview on Sunday, Manchin explained he had worked “diligently… Every day” on the bill, holding meetings with President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as other colleagues attempting to reach a compromise. However, Manchin says he remains extremely concerned about rising inflation and the $29 trillion federal debt, as well as a pandemic surge caused by the omicron variant, The Hill reported.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Manchin said during an interview with Fox on Sunday. “I just can’t.”
“I tried everything humanly possible,” Manchin continued. “I can’t get there. This is a no on this legislation.”
“Inflation is real, it’s not going away anytime soon,” Manchin added. “What we need to do is get our financial house in order, but be able to pay for what we do and do what we pay for.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) vowed on Monday to hold a vote early in 2022 on the Build Back Better plan, despite opposition from Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV).
“We will keep voting on it until we get something done,” Schumer promised.
The roughly $2 trillion package aims to overhaul healthcare, education, climate, immigration and tax laws in the nation, the Washington Post reported.
Nonetheless, without Manchin’s support in the evenly divided Senate, Democrats cannot pass the Build Back Better Act. However, Schumer says a vote will put every senator on record.
President Joe Biden has appointed and had the highest number of federal judges approved during the first year of presidency in four decades. Biden’s 40 appointments tie those of former Republican president Ronald Reagan.
During an entire presidential term, under Donald Trump, Republicans placed over 230 judges. But Biden has already placed more than double the number of judges Trump did during his first year and four times that of Barack Obama.
But perhaps more significant, the appointments may be the most diverse judicial picks ever, which encompass a broad range of racial, gender, and professional backgrounds, the Washington Post reported.
