Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Sunday again declined to speculate about backing President Joe Biden in 2024 and said he was hopeful Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., will come on board with a Democrats-only deficit reduction, climate and energy bill he negotiated.
“Everybody’s worried about the election. That’s the problem. It’s the 2022 election, 2024 election. I’m not getting involved in that,” Manchin told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl, adding, “I’m not getting into the 2022 or 2024. Whoever is the president, that’s my president. Joe Biden is my president right now.”
As for the new spending deal Manchin unveiled last week, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, he defended its provisions — which will need to earn the support of all 50 votes in the Democratic caucus.
“Sen. Sinema is my dear friend. I have all the respect for her, she’s extremely bright and works very, very hard. She has an awful lot in this piece of legislation, the way it’s been designed as far as the reduction of Medicare — letting Medicare go ahead and negotiate for lower drug prices. She’s very involved in that and I appreciate that,” Manchin said. “Also, basically, when she said … ‘we’re not going to raise taxes,’ I agree with that.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.