There's 'no way' to predict Joe Manchin's reconciliation vote, says former adviser


To the pundits and Capitol Hill colleagues attempting to predict how Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) will move on Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending bill — you're fighting a losing battle.
According to Jonathan Kott, a former senior adviser and communications director to the West Virginia senator, "making any assumptions about what Manchin will or won't do is a mistake," writes The Washington Post.
"Don't assume he's going to vote any way until he actually casts his vote," said Kott. "I went with him to almost every vote and there were times when he made up his decision when he walked onto the floor."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He added, "There's no way to sort of predict what he's going to do."
One thing Manchin will do, however, is "listen to everybody," said Kott.
"He's open to any argument," Kott explained. "He will listen to everybody. People think he has set ways on what he believes. He doesn't. … He only cares about what's good for West Virginia."
And underneath it all, he just wants to find a way to compromise, said Manchin's former Chief of Staff Patrick Hayes: "His default position is to try to find a way to say yes." Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
July 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami