Manchin bemoans the 'strange bedfellows' of Bernie Sanders and the Senate GOP teaming up to oppose his plan to streamline construction of fossil fuel projects
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
- Manchin bemoaned the bipartisan opposition that's brewing against his energy bill.
- "What I'm hearing is that this is like revenge politics," Manchin said Tuesday.
- Democratic leaders want to overhaul the permitting process for fossil fuel and clean energy projects.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia griped on Tuesday about bipartisan opposition to his plan to streamline construction of fossil fuel and clean energy projects, assailing it as a form of vengeful politics.
"I've been around a long time in state politics and federal politics," Manchin said at a Tuesday press conference. "I've never seen stranger bedfellows than Bernie Sanders and the extreme liberal left siding up with the Republican leadership in the caucus."
Manchin continued: "What I'm hearing is that this is like revenge politics. Basically revenge towards one person, me."
The conservative Democrat from West Virginia is set to unveil his permitting reform bill on Wednesday. It's part of a deal that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cut with the mercurial moderate to gain his vote for the Democratic climate, health, and tax bill that became law last month.
Schumer and Democratic leaders promised to separately approve the Manchin-authored measure paving the way for an overhaul of the permitting process for fossil fuel and clean energy projects and shorten the review process.
But progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders are castigating it as a "side-deal" they aren't obligated to support. "There's an understanding that if we're going to save this planet, for our kids and for future generations, we have to boldly move away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy," Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.
He blasted the Manchin measure since it would also ease the way for construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a gas pipeline that cuts through swaths of West Virginia. In addition, over 70 House Democrats — mostly progressives — are threatening to oppose a short-term funding bill intended to be passed by the end of September meant to keep the government open for several more months if it includes Manchin's permit reform legislation.
Republicans are also not inclined to lend votes to Manchin's plan, given it was critical in ensuring passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. That Democrat-only bill poured $433 billion into clean energy tax credits, healthcare subsidies and imposed a minimum tax on profitable corporations.
"There's not a lot of sympathy on our side for providing Sen. Manchin a reward for his flip-flop," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters on Tuesday.