Manchin says he won't support climate, tax provisions in sweeping Democratic bill

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and his staff told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D, N.Y., unequivocally Thursday that he is only willing to support a reconciliation bill in August that includes a provision to lower prescription drug prices and a two-year extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, according to a Democrat briefed on the conversations. 

Manchin was explicit that he won't support a bill before the midterms with any provisions on energy and climate or closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthy and biggest corporations, despite his support for those specific things during months of negotiations.  

Democrats had hoped to pass a sweeping package to tout during the midterms.

Schumer and Manchin have been negotiating the package for months and the West Virginia moderate had previously said he would be amenable to climate language and tax increases on higher earners in a bill roughly half the size of the $2 trillion social and environmental bill Manchin single-handedly killed last December.