Joe Manchin: Build Back Better bill is 'dead'

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday used some rather ... blunt phrasing when discussing with reporters the current state of affairs as they relate to Build Back Better negotiations, Bloomberg reports.
In reference to President Biden's languishing hallmark legislation, Manchin replied, "What Build Back Better bill?"
"It's dead," he added.
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.
It was the senator's "strongest language to date to underscore that any revival of Democrats' top domestic priorities would have to arise from fresh negotiations," The Associated Press writes.
After failing to secure the bill's passage in December, Biden in January conceded he might have to scale down and break the package up into chunks in order for it to pass. There hasn't been a terrible amount of discussion since.
"Whatever we are going to come up with, anything you want to be put on the table we can talk about," Manchin continued. The lawmaker has long proved problematic to the passage of Biden's agenda, having taken issue specifically with the size and scope of the original Build Back Better package.
Manchin also said he hasn't spoken directly with the White House since negotiations creaked to a halt last year, per Bloomberg.
When asked to further clarify his remarks, Manchin replied, "If we're talking about the whole big package, that's gone," Politico reports. As for a smaller bill ... he said he's open to one, should it actually come together.
Senate Democrats need all 50 members of their caucus on board should there be any hope of pushing a reconciliation bill through.
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.
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from