Durbin: 'I don't know' if Manchin will vote for Build Back Better

[bigtree]

GLASGOW, Scotland — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois told Yahoo News, “I don’t know,” whether Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., will provide the crucial 50th vote for Build Back Better, President Biden’s signature budget bill, on Saturday.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said when asked if the Senate would muster the votes to pass the hotly contested legislation. “First, we have to get it through the parliamentarian’s office and through 50 Democratic senators.”

The parliamentarian is the person who would rule on whether all the provisions of the bill are appropriate to be passed within the budget reconciliation process, which allows a simple majority to pass legislation without threat of a filibuster from the minority.

Manchin, the centrist from a fossil fuel-heavy state whose opposition to many elements of the proposal has already forced their removal, still hasn’t publicly committed to back the stripped-down bill.

Durbin also rebuffed the suggestion that Manchin could somehow be forced to fall in line.

“That’s not how the Senate works,” he said. “Each member has the power to slow down the train, and some have the power to stop it. And you realize that the person who just angered you today, you need tomorrow to pass something else.”

https://news.yahoo.com/durbin-i-dont-know-if-manchin-will-vote-for-build-back-better-181827751.html

Link to tweet

...why won't Manchin pledge to vote for President Biden's bill? Why hasn't he committed to its passage?

Link to tweet

[LonePirate]

1. He will not vote for BBB now.

[CrackityJones75]

2. If he wasn't now he wasn't before.

None of it is of consequence to him.

Need more democrats.

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. Of course he won't

Anyone who thought he would now that BIF has passed is delusional.

[Elessar Zappa]

17. He probably wouldn't have voted for BBB either way then.

I still have a part of me that’s optimistic about it passing in some watered down form but I’m not that confident.

[AZProgressive]

4. It seems there was a huge lobbying campaign to kill the BBB

Both bills should have been done months ago with everyone as far as Democrats voting for both but the whittling process took a long time and it was slowly piece by piece. During this whole time I seen advertising campaigns against the reconciliation bill and it is interesting living in Arizona because the ads are praising Sinema while bashing Kelly for being on board.

[Sneederbunk]

6. It's over.

Move on and elect more Dem senators in 2022.

[leftstreet]

7. Build Back Barely

[ColinC]

8. As many here have already said

It is now DOA. The only thing keeping it on life support was whatever leverage BIF presented. Now it's done and for better or worse, we can thank republicans for it.

[Colgate 64]

9. Of course he won't. Wants to stretch his 15 minutes

of being President a little farther.

[Salviati]

10. I hope that even if he doesn't get behind it, they bring it up in the senate...

... and force him to vote against it.

At least maybe the talking point that he votes with Biden 100% of the time will die then.

[ColinC]

11. Yep.

And then bring up a ton of the other bills he doesn't approve and see sinema and manchin as the only two to vote against everything. Proving they are against the president.

[ColinC]

12. Oh and if he votes against it in it's watered down version that he created,

They should bring up the original version so he can vote against that.

[Maraya1969]

13. SO WHAT THE HELL DID WE JUST PASS? I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BUILD BACK BETTER!

Everythins thou confushin

[leftstreet]

14. No it was bridges and electric car charging stations

etc

[bigtree]

15. two bills

...

infrastructure bill: passed

Build Back Better: pending