Manchin Reportedly Opposes Key Piece of Biden's Climate Agenda

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) reportedly said "unequivocally" Thursday that he will only back Democrats' major reconciliation package if it includes some key items and excludes others that are core to President Joe Biden's agenda.

Manchin, a crucial swing vote in the evenly-divided Senate, told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that he wouldn't support the planned climate change or tax provisions in the package, according to reports from across the political spectrum, and would only back it if it extends enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years and includes a provision to lower prescription drug prices. The two had been negotiating for months after opposition from Manchin and others stalled Biden's first major economic bill. Manchin pushed back on reports that he'd given Schumer a hard "no," and said in an interview Friday that he'd said he wanted to wait until the July inflation report comes out "so we know that we're going down the path that won't be inflammatory to add more to inflation."

Manchin's comments were covered prominently Friday, especially by left- and center-rated sources, some of which described him as having "doomed" or "torpedoed" Democrats' plans to act on climate change. Reports from right-rated sources focused more on what Manchin said he would support; left-rated outlets tended to highlight what Manchin said he would oppose. Updated 7/15/22 at 12:45 p.m. ET to reflect Manchin's Friday comments.