West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said Tuesday he supports Democrats moving forward with a larger, more ambitious infrastructure bill but that he does not believe it should be tied the smaller bipartisan legislation agreed upon last week.

Manchin’s remarks during the interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle indicate he is OK with Democrats bypassing the senate filibuster — which Manchin has repeatedly said he will not vote to end — through the process of reconciliation, which allows Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority.

 

 

But Manchin also noted that he does not support connecting both infrastructure packages. From The Hill:

Manchin, during the MSNBC interview on Tuesday, argued that the two bills shouldn’t be linked, urging that Democrats should “take the win” on the bipartisan agreement. 

“Saying I’m going to not vote for the other one because you haven’t guaranteed the vote for everything, we’ve never done legislation that way, I’ve never been a part of it in 10 years I’ve been in the Senate,” Manchin said, adding that the bipartisan bill was “doable” and that Democrats should “take that victory.” 

 

During the MSNBC interview, Manchin noted that while he is on board to work a bigger bill through reconciliation, exactly “how big” a price tag that bill entails remains a question that he wants an answer to before committing his vote.

“We’re going to have to work it through reconciliation, which I’ve agreed that that can be done. I just haven’t agreed on the amount, because I haven’t seen everything that everyone is wanting to put in the bill.”

While Vermont Senator and Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders wants a $6 trillion package, other democrats are still trying to figure out exactly how big a bill to put together. With a 50-5- Senate, and Manchin and Arizona’s Krysten Sinema among the notable members whose votes are not 100% certain, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has little room for error in getting everyone on board.

President Biden’s walk-back of his comments last week that he viewed both infrastructure bills as a combo package or “no deal” seem to have calmed the waters with the Republicans who worked out the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House won’t take up the Bipartisan deal unless assurances are made for the Dems-only package.