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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
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.
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - February 20, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - post-mortem negotiations, problematic immigration, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings
Speed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks
Speed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published