Joe Manchin Throws Another Wrench Into Joe Biden's Nominees, Not Sold on HHS Pick Becerra

[Polybius]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Newsweek

Criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra is largely coming from the Republican side of the aisle but at least one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, isn't sold on President Joe Biden's pick.

Confirming Biden's Cabinet picks requires a simple majority in the Senate, which Democrats have with the support of the two independents that caucus with them. However, there is no wiggle room, and Manchin opposing any of Biden's nominees creates a need for Republican support, an uphill battle for some of his picks.

Manchin's spokesperson, Sam Runyon, told the National Review on Monday that the West Virginia senator hasn't decided if he will support Becerra's nomination. His hearings are set to begin on Tuesday and Republicans are likely to target him for his pro-choice record, opposition to President Donald Trump and support for Medicare for All.

"Curiously, the president's candidate to run the Department of Health and Human Services is the famously partisan attorney general of California," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech in January. "His recent experience in health policies seems largely limited to promoting abortion-on-demand and suing groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, which dare to live out their religious convictions."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-throws-another-wrench-joe-bidens-nominees-not-sold-hhs-pick-becerra-1571101

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So Manchin's spokesperson is talking to far-right National Review?

[Skittles]

1. Manchin is on a power trip

sickening

[onetexan]

33. Seems he wants to join the GOP

[Magoo48]

39. Conservative obstruction has no place in our party.

He’s sittin’ in the wrong dugout; he’s playin’ for the other team. He has no clue about our common welfare as a national party. His constituency is opposed to his stance on minimum wage. He acts like a man who’s payola laden and beholden to corporate America.

[apnu]

48. I wish he'd be honest about that and join.

Get this bullshit over with.

[mountain grammy]

52. My biggest fear

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

53. Schumer needs to get him under control.

Otherwise, McConnell will be running the show, either in absentia or directly when Manchin switches parties. Either way, Biden will get nothing done. If Manchin switches before the rescue package passes, that's it. The first thing Moscow Mitch will do once he regains his Grim Reaper robes will be to kill all Biden's legislation, and stop all his appointments, especially judges. Zero judges.

What does Manchin want? Can he be mollified with a committee chair? He clearly knows he's in the cat bird seat. All roads lead through him.

[JI7]

36. Yup, he is taking advantage of the split

If we had a couple more seats where his vote wouldn't make a difference he wouldn't be doing this with every single thing .

[Trueblue1968]

37. WHAT THE CRAP does Manchin want? I am beginning to be not so fond of him.

[Rebl2]

65. I have

never cared for him because he’s pulled this kind of thing before. Wish there was a Democrat that could replace him. I really have never understood why he is a Democrat.

[appmanga]

51. The administration did go after him...

...with the Harris interviews. Still, this is the wrong time and wrong way to flex. Becerra is the absolute right guy to get the ACA back on solid legal footing so that it can't be dismantled in the future. Manchin is working against his constituents and it's not a great look to be opposing minority members of a cabinet built with inclusion in mind.

[Escurumbele]

58. He needs to be investigated, the GOP knows he is easy prey and they are going after him

with maybe some offers he cannot resist?

Something IS going on with Manchin and the republican party.

[dlk]

2. Manchin is hustling for a quid pro quo

Such a nice man

[PatSeg]

16. Yeah, he wants something

[dlk]

72. Seems obvious to me

[RainCaster]

3. Joe Manchin is a DINO

IMHO, he should be replaced by a young solid Democrat.

[Polybius]

7. Of course, but he can't be

Trump won his state with around 68% of the vote. It's Bright Red.

[certainot]

24. it's bright red because, like a lot of red states it's a talk radio state. manchin needs to get

the message that whether he uses those idiot dittoheads screaming at his staff about neera tanden's tweets to enable his republican roots or they intimidate him (same with global warming) - LIMBAUGH IS DEAD and those made-to-order procorporate talk radio constituencies are going to start falling apart because they cannot replace him

best thing to tell manchins staff is he's fucked as a democrat doing this crap without talk radio and if he wants to join a very diminished and divided minority republican party as it tries to suck itself out of the trump limbaugh swamp just keep it up

[mezame]

50. This

Wish we had 14Amendment radio...

[PatSeg]

17. For right now,

he could be the best we can expect out of West Virginia. A more progressive Democrat probably couldn't be elected and if it isn't Manchin, it would likely be a very right-wing republican. Meanwhile, we're stuck with a conservative Democrat. Maybe someday a solid Democrat can get elected in West Virginia. We can always hope.

[Under The Radar]

4. Joe really likes the attention and the all you can eat Buffett tickets from the lobbyist

[Faux pas]

5. Kickin' with disgust!

[msongs]

6. who would collude with mcconnell to block nominees? nobody I know of one hopes nt

[catbyte]

8. What the fuck is his problem? You support the nominations of the leader of your party. I can

just imagine what he'll do when it's time for Deb Haaland's nomination hearing to come up.

[Polybius]

10. I never thought of that

He's almost certain to oppose her too. Great point.

[turbinetree]

12. Agreed .......................

[Gore1FL]

9. He comes with a price.

i don't like Manchin, but I'd prefer him to a GOP alternative. It is my hope that one day the blue collar workers of WV (and beyond) will realize they are the redefined slavery class and quit supporting the slavers.

[DURHAM D]

11. He is not a decent person.

Too bad Dems have to suck up to him.

[RandySF]

13. Sounds like he's getting ready to join the Republicans.

[Drunken Irishman]

14. Kinda curious the three people he has opposed, or may oppose, are non-whites...

Js

[Polybius]

18. Neera Tanden and Xavier Becerra are the only two that I know of that have been mentioned

Who's the third, Deb Haaland?

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Yup.

Link to tweet

[Akakoji]

35. Yes

This after he voted for Sessions, Barr, Grinell and Kavanaugh.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

74. And Gorsuch. N/T

[radius777]

31. Bingo, it's a dogwhistle.

Becerra is no more partisan than any of Trump or Bush nominees.

In recent months, Manchin has had public feuds with AOC, Kamala, Tanden and now Becerra... wonder what they all have in common?

Let's face it, white America has historically worked to hold down PoC, much of our politics have revolved around that fact.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

38. Yet he voted to confirm Jeff Sessions.

And was the only Democrat to do so. I think you're on to something.

[jayfish]

70. Precisely. -NT-

[dalton99a]

15. There is a lovable Ted Cruz-like quality to the guy

[Blue Owl]

19. Sounds like Manchin's getting chummy with the domestic terrorists...

I'll let Merrick Garland know...

[LudwigPastorius]

21. Ugh...he's turning into Joe Lieberman 2.0.

[dsc]

41. actually while a Senator Lieberman was never this bad

but he represented a much more liberal state so that made him worse in relation. But Lieberman never opposed as many Clinton appointees as Manchin is doing with Biden's. If he opposes both Interior and HHS it really will show him to be pretty awful.

[Bleacher Creature]

22. And this will win him exactly how many votes in West Virginia?? NT

[DallasNE]

23. The Trend Is Troubling

Does it take a white male to win his support? Seems odd that he singles out a woman and a Hispanic.

[Midnight Writer]

25. He's just swinging his dick at this point. Wait til he sees it work out for him. Then lookout.

[vercetti2021]

26. Reason we need to elect more dems to the Senate in 2022

So we can collectively tell this asshole to formally fuck off

[LittleGirl]

27. Oh why doesn't he just switch sides then

Goodness gracious Joe. Knock it off.

[JusticeForAll]

28. FJM

Nt

[Liberty Belle]

29. Honestly I think Biden should've picked a doctor or medical expert to run Health & Human Services.

Becerra has done a great job as CA Attorney General, but I don't see how that qualifies him for this position especially in the middle of a pandemic.

[Firebrand Gary]

30. So what! It would be wise for Manchin to do what he has to do to keep that seat!

I'd rather accept him and his style than allow McConnell to be in control of the Senate EVER AGAIN!!!

[NurseJackie]

47. I know, right? Why do people act to HORRIFIED and SHOCKED at Joe Manchin...

... it's no secret who he is, what he believes, how he feels and the fact that he's from West Fucking Virginia!! People need to just accept it, figure out a way to deal, or figure out a way to negotiate, or figure out a way to move on. All this hair-pulling and nail-biting is going to keep wig-makers, toupee-makers, and manicurists rolling in money for the next two years!

[PJMcK]

32. Time for a talk between the Joes

The President needs to rein in the fellow from WV. He's got the powers to do so.

[still_one]

34. The best way to deal with Manchin is 2022 by controlling the Senate by more than two votes

[NurseJackie]

46. At least. But I'm hoping for more. I just hope that "liberal" groups like "Justice Democrats" and...

At least. But I'm hoping for more. I just hope that "liberal" groups like "Justice Democrats" and "Our Revolution" will get their shit together and figure out that they need to flip REPUBLICAN seats rather than continually trying to wound and weaken incumbent Democrats.

This would be a GREAT help if they'd do that rather than making it easier for the GOP to defeat Democrats.

[still_one]

57. I agree Jackie

[AnnaLee]

40. So if he switches parties, does McConnell take over?

That would give the majority to the Republicans, wouldn't it? Even if he is a pitiful obstructionist, isn't it better that he remain in the Democratic Party so they set the agenda? Maybe this is McConnell's plan to regain his power.

[brooklynite]

42. Why leap to crackpot conspiracy theories?

He's NOT switching parties. He's NOT a Republican. He's a Democrat who's more conservative than you are.

[NurseJackie]

45. Yawn.

That's not happening.

[NurseJackie]

44. Well, that's disappointing. But I'm still THRILLED that he's one of ours... a Democrat!

We'd be TRULY FUCKED without him. So... count your blessings, everyone! Be thankful for what we've got.

I hope that we can find a way to negotiate, deal, or find common ground with him and move forward. There's a lot of work to do.

[OhioTim]

49. +1

He may not vote how we like on some issues, but he is often with the Democrats. Considering his state voted 70% for Trump he has a tough situation. West Virginia is one of the biggest "taker" states meaning they get a ton more money than they send to Washington. For its residents to follow Trump and be mostly anti-government and "socialism" is such a sham.

[PatrickforB]

62. Let's hope so. n/t

[llashram]

54. from this dem. senator(small s intentional)

to be this way and be damned that he is a 'bluedog', after 4 long years of republiKKKan lethal and deadly shenanigans is, to me, unconscionable.

[Jon King]

55. Just more minority rule...

He is a Dem in name but still represents West Virginia. The disaster that is the electoral college and 2 Senators from each state regardless of population means the people of West Virginia have outsized influence on all of us.

We must keep fighting to get more Senators to break the 50-50 split. We must some day get DC as a state. This minority rule is destroying the country.

[Texin]

56. So, what kind of "deal" for WV is Manchin wanting to extort from Biden by opposing his nominees?

One has to wonder because he wasn't the thorn in "the other guy's" side about his cabinet picks.

[Fiendish Thingy]

59. If Manchin obstructs Biden, his senate career will end in 2024. No matter what party he's in. Nt

[PatrickforB]

61. Well, I'm sure a donor, and have been known to support candidates in other states besides

my own.

[Polybius]

75. Why do you say that?

Biden lost by 39 points to an insane animal. I fully expect the margin to be even wider in 2024.

[PatrickforB]

60. Manchin is not up for reelection until 2024. So whatever you think of the guy,

he has our whole party hostage to whatever he is thinking about any potential cabinet member until (and perhaps past) November 2024.

I feel frustrated, and want to do something, like call his office and ask how he could have voted in all of Trump's cabinet choices, but is now against Tanden. But that is kind of futile because he does have four more years in office, and now he has tasted this new power.

What, I wonder, ever happened to the courtesy of giving a president the cabinet he wants? Are we this broken?

[yaesu]

63. Well, he didn't say he was going to be a no vote, he just wants to wait for the hearing to decide

May be the prudent thing to say representing a red state. I know more about quantum physics than Manchin, which is nothing, so I have no idea how religious he is or what floats his boat.

[utopian]

64. Manchin is the new Joe Lieberman

Pulling the exact same crap and relishing in the power and attention his position as the swing vote allows.

[Hotler]

66. Shun the fucker. Give him a hockey check up against the Hallway wall...

let him know he needs to be a team player.

[Politicub]

67. No comment.

[Grins]

68. Another failure of minority rule

One senator from one shitty state representing one-half-of-1% of the nation's population, elected by .17% (.0017) of the nation's population, can stop the nation's business dead in its tracks.

HHS has the lion's share of the federal budget and covers a TREMENDOUS range of services to the entire country. But Manchin isn't concerned by all those things, he's concerned because someone has a pro-choice opinion on something over which - HE HAS ZERO CONTROL! Unlike Manchin - the HHS Secretary can't vote!

Not that it matters, but it will never come to a vote because:

a) keeping it an "issue" is a way to keep another minority, single-issue, community back home voting for you, and
b) If it ever went to a national referendum - it would LOSE!

70% of Americas want to leave abortion as something between a doctor and a patient.

Becerra should just throw that back at him: "My opinion is shared by a majority of Americans. Why are you against the majority of Americans, Senator? Why do you oppose (deep voice) THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE?"

[Scalded Nun]

69. Can Biden not install her as 'Acting'? Would she not have the same authority?

[BlueIdaho]

71. Time to expand our Senate majority

If we work hard starting now - we could have enough senators to stop any senator from holding our agenda for America hostage.

[Sibelius Fan]

73. I hope Schumer is talking to Murkowski and Sasse about leaving the R Party

and going I if not D. They could caucus with the Ds. What future do they have as Rs after voting guilty on tRump’s impeachment?

[Omaha Steve]

76. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

Opinion and analysis plus "the West Virginia senator hasn't decided" from the article.

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