West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) on Wednesday lashed out at reporters for asking him about reports that he wants to drop the child tax credit from President Biden’s spending package.
“I’m not negotiating with any of you all. You can ask all the questions you want. Guys, let me go. This is bullshit. You’re bullshit,” Manchin fumed at Huffington Post reporter Arthur Delaney in the Capitol subway, grumbling “God almighty” as he walked away after Delaney asked him about his stance on the popular social program.
“I’m done, I’m done,” Manchin yelled, his voice rising, after Delaney asked whether the senator could support continuing $300 monthly payments to families with young kids.
“I’m not opposed to child tax credit, I’ve never been opposed to child tax credit,” he insisted, HuffPost reported.
The testy exchange followed another heated exchange between Manchin and a group of reporters, including CNN’s Manu Raju, who reported that talks between Manchin and Biden were not going well because Manchin wants to cut the child tax credit out of the bill.
Manchin has denied the report and said members of the media are hearing “a lot of bad rumors.”
As noted by The Hill, however, Democratic senators say frustration with Manchin is rising, and many of them are fed up with his refusal to sign off on Biden’s signature domestic social spending proposal.
Some Democrats, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), want Schumer to schedule a vote on Build Back Better before Christmas. But Schumer doesn’t seem inclined to risk the bill failing on the Senate floor because of a “no” vote from Manchin, according to The Hill.
