The group of House progressives who took flak for opposing the bipartisan infrastructure legislation earlier due to concerns that moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wouldn’t support the Build Back Better bill have a message for their fellow Democrats: We told you so.
“This is exactly what we warned would happen if we separated Build Back Better from infrastructure,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted on Sunday after Manchin announced his opposition to the social spending and climate package, dooming half of Biden’s legislative agenda.
Omar was one of six House Democrats who broke from the party to vote against the infrastructure bill in November. Those lawmakers consistently called for both the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act to move together, ensuring they both would become law.
But Democratic leaders in the House delinked the two bills, passing the infrastructure bill with the hope that Biden would eventually reach a deal with Manchin and other moderates to pass the second bill as well.
For months, Manchin expressed concerns with the Build Back Better legislation based on rising inflation and debt, withholding his support for the bill while continuing to negotiate with the White House. On Sunday, he formally announced his opposition to the $1.75 trillion measure in an interview on Fox News.
“I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he told host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a no.”
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