While President Joe Biden was giving his first press conference in 78-days Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin took to the Senate floor to defend the filibuster.
.@Sen_JoeManchin: "Let this change happen in this way and the Senate will be a body without rules." pic.twitter.com/dxBzzYo1oQ
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2022
Despite pressure from the left and the White House, Manchin is standing his ground against eliminating the filibuster in order to pass Biden's agenda. He has repeatedly expressed concerns over runaway inflation, which is why he won't vote to pass Biden's multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better plan.
“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight," Manchin released in a December statement. “The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill’s ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill."
Manchin has also opposed Biden's calls to eliminate the filibuster in order to nationalize elections and eliminate voter identification.