As pressure builds in Congress and Democrats continue to negotiate the passage of their spending proposal, they face a familiar challenge in courting Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). Manchin, a conservative Democrat, insists the $3.5 trillion price tag is too high. In a press conference on Capitol Hill Thursday, he said he would be comfortable supporting a $1.5 trillion bill.
“I’ve never been a liberal in any way, shape, or the form,” Manchin said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Manchin explained that he shared major concerns with his Democratic colleagues.
“What I have made clear to the President and Democratic leaders is that spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can’t even pay for the essential social programs, like Social Security and Medicare, is the definition of fiscal insanity,” Manchin said.