Manchin faces make-or-break vote on permitting reform

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) faces a make-or-break moment for his top policy priority when the Senate holds a key procedural vote Tuesday on his permitting reform bill, which Republican leaders are working hard to defeat.    

The Senate will vote at 5:30 p.m. on a motion to proceed to a House-passed “shell” bill that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) hopes to use as a legislative vehicle to pass a government funding bill with Manchin’s permitting reform legislation attached.   

Schumer promised to attach Manchin’s permitting reform measure to must-pass legislation before the end of September as part of a deal to get Manchin to support a budget reconciliation package that tackled climate change and the high cost of prescription drugs.   

But Manchin’s side of the arrangement could fall apart because Republicans — still angry about his deal with Schumer — don’t want to give him a political win.    

The chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has made permitting reform and rebuilding bipartisan relations two of his top priorities in the 50-50 Senate.