Manchin says he's not for reviving Biden's Build Back Better agenda
Manchin is the crucial 50th vote to getting something passed in Senate before midterms
Sen. Joe Manchin, once again, poured cold water on hopes the Senate would pass President Biden's ambitious Build Back Better social spending plan.
"There's not a Build Back Better revival," Manchin, D-W.Va., told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol. "There's not."
Manchin said legislation that deals with "major social changes" – as BBB sought to tackle free preschool, clean energy projects and health care – needs to go through the regular Senate process and "build consensus."
Sen. Joe Manchin speaks during the 2022 CERAWeek. (F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Then if you think you need reconciliation because you got a great piece of legislation, but people are playing politics with it that's another. … We haven't had hearings on any of these things," Manchin said.
With the Senate equally divided, all 50 senators in the Democratic caucus must be united in passing sweeping spending legislation through a process called budget reconciliation. But both Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have previously opposed the roughly $2 trillion social spending and environmental bill that passed the House in November – and efforts to pass a pared down bill that they could support have since sputtered.
MANCHIN SAYS HE 'CANNOT VOTE' FOR BUILD BACK BETTER: 'I'VE DONE EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE'
Fresh off a spring break recess, environmental groups, lobbyists and progressives are making a new push to get at least something passed in the Senate before the midterm elections in November.
Many lawmakers view July 4 as a crucial deadline to get something passed before the midterm season, and White House officials are facing the "real fear" that they will fail to reach a deal with Manchin to get anything done, according to the Washington Post's conversations with Biden administration officials.
Sen. Joe Manchin speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Oct. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik / AP Newsroom)
INFLATION SURGES 8.5% IN MARCH, HITTING A NEW 40-YEAR HIGH
Manchin, who has long raised concerns about how excess spending could drive up inflation, gave no indication Tuesday he was in a hurry to get something done.
He said the reconciliation process should be used for financial means and the U.S. financial house is not in order with runaway inflation that is hurting everyday Americans.
President Joe Biden waves as he exits Air Force One Oct. 5, 2021, in Lansing, Michigan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)
"Everybody in America is getting hit by this," Manchin said of inflation – which reached a 40-year-high.
"It's a tax and there's no way to camouflage that."
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met with Manchin Tuesday morning at the Capitol to discuss a pathway forward. Schumer contends the way to address inflation is to undo some of President Trump's 2017 tax cuts and the budget reconciliation process is needed for that.
"Our meetings were both preliminary and good," Schumer said Tuesday of his talks with Manchin. "And we're going to continue to keep talking."
Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.