Manchin threatens to support repeal of Biden’s landmark climate bill

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) is stepping up his feud with President Biden by threatening to support a repeal of Biden’s landmark climate and prescription drug reform bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Manchin largely crafted last summer.

Manchin thought he had a deal with the Biden administration to allow more investment in fossil fuel production over the next decade, but he doesn’t think the president is holding up his end of the bargain.

“If the administration does not honor what they said they would do and continue to liberalize what we are supposed to invest in over the next 10 years, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill,” Manchin told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview Monday evening.

There’s no chance of a repeal bill passing Congress before 2025 as Democrats control the White House and Senate and view Biden’s climate investments and drug reforms as a major achievement.

Manchin faces a tough reelection race next year in a state former President Trump won by large margins in 2016 and 2020. West Virginia’s popular Republican governor, Jim Justice, is expected to run for Manchin’s seat.

Manchin, who is 75, hasn’t said whether he will seek a fourth Senate term, but if he does, he will have to find a way to distance himself from Biden and Democrats in Washington to win the Republican-leaning state.

“They broke their word to the American public,” Manchin told Hannity. “This legislation was balanced. In the next 10 years, we are going to have enough fossil fuel to run our country and to help our allies around the world. We will also be investing in new technology for the future.

“Now, the Biden Administration has disregarded this completely. This was about energy security, and we have not heard a word about energy security out of their mouths since it was passed. It’s all about the environment,” he said.

Manchin negotiated the bill with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in secret last summer.

Republican senators were furious when they announced their deal to set a corporate minimum tax, invest hundreds of billions of dollars to fight climate change and rein in prescription drug prices because Republicans thought those talks were dead when they supported the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act.

The West Virginia senator saw his approval rating in the state drop after he voted for the IRA, which included $370 billion in investment to promote the nation’s transition to cleaner energy sources, authority for Medicare to negotiate lower prices for a small group of prescription drugs, a $35 cap on monthly insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries and more than $100 billion in deficit reduction.

A Morning Consult poll published last week found that 55 percent of West Virginia voters disapprove of Manchin.

Only Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is more unpopular in his home state, according to Morning Consult.

Manchin has responded to his drop in popularity by taking the Biden administration to task over its implementation of the IRA. He has also criticized Biden for not negotiating with Republicans to curb the growth of the nation’s $31 trillion debt.

Last week, he accused Biden of demonstrating “a deficiency of leadership” on the looming expiration of the federal debt limit.

“Our elected leaders must stop with the political games, work together and negotiate a compromise. Instead, it has been more than 78 days since President Biden last met with Speaker McCarthy. This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change,” Manchin said in a statement last week.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday praised the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a project Manchin also has pushed — and called for an independent government agency to proceed “expeditiously” on it.

However, she stopped short of fully endorsing it, saying the department “takes no position” on outstanding agency actions or litigation related to the project.

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