Manchin will not support Dems obstruction of debt ceiling

Senator Joe Manchin on Wednesday reiterated his opposition to changing Senate filibustering to raise the debt ceiling, a day after telling reporters he was “not ruling things out.”

“I have been very, very clear on my position on filibuster,” Manchin (D-WV) told a group of reporters. “Nothing changes.”

Despite his opposition to the Democrats’ back-up plan, a so-called “nuclear option” that involves voting for an exception to the filibuster rule for the debt limit vote, Manchin vowed that the states- United “will not be lacking”.

“The only thing I can say to Chief Schumer right now, and to get to know Minority Leader McConnell, is please, please, please work together. It is a democracy, democracy only works when all parties are working towards the same common goal, ”he added.

The day before, however, the West Virginia senator said, “I’m not ruling things out.”

“I just know that there are enough good people here who won’t let this country fail… it won’t.”

Democrats are looking to raise the debt ceiling by October 18 to avoid default. A vote on a stand-alone measure to raise the ceiling is expected in the Senate Wednesday afternoon and is expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed.

Republicans, especially Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Have urged Democrats to raise the debt ceiling without any GOP votes through reconciliation.

“Our colleagues have ample time to do this before the first scheduled deadline,” McConnell said in Wednesday’s Senate session.

“There would be potential for time deals to do it long before any danger, but Democratic leaders wanted solutions. They wanted to turn their failure into a crisis for everyone else, to play risky games with our economy, to use fabricated dramas to intimidate their own members, to engage in petty politics instead of governing. “

The Minority Leader has long urged Democrats to raise the debt ceiling themselves and, in a letter on Monday, told President Biden: “Bipartism is not a light switch that [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and [Senate Majority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer can borrow money and spend it.

“The Republicans’ position is simple,” McConnell continued. “We don’t have a list of demands. For two and a half months, we have simply warned that since your party wants to govern alone, it must also manage the debt ceiling on its own. “

If Senate Democrats go ahead with the exclusion of filibuster – known as the nuclear option – they are likely to vote to overturn the House rule requiring 60 votes to pass a ceiling extension of debt, followed by a vote to adopt the extension itself. Both votes could require Vice President Kamala Harris to break a 50-50 tie in favor of the Democrats. To invoke the option, the party would need full unity.

Democrats have been reluctant to raise the debt ceiling through reconciliation because it would create a second reconciliation bill alongside the massive $ 3.5 trillion spending program.

According to the Senate MP’s office, the second bill would have no impact on the larger package and still allow Democrats to raise the cap once it reaches 50 votes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed on Monday that the Biden administration did not want to take this approach.

“As you know, the reconciliation process would essentially mean starting from scratch. And the point is, why wouldn’t that be the preference, ”Psaki said, referring to the advancement of the $ 3.5 trillion bill passed by the House. “Why, for everyone involved, Democrats, Republicans, the American public. We have a bill that we could vote up or down to increase the debt ceiling. It’s a much easier, cleaner, simpler, and less risky process.

Biden also pushed against the reconciliation option, likening the situation to Ethiopia.

“There is a process that I understand the Republican leader is ready to launch, to follow, which would literally require up to hundreds of votes,” he said. “It’s an unlimited number of votes that has nothing to do directly with the debt limit; it could be anything from Ethiopia to anything unrelated to debt limit. And that’s fraught with all kinds of potential dangers for miscalculation, and it should happen twice. “

Regardless of Manchin’s opposition, the president suggested that filibuster was a viable option.

“Oh, I think that’s a real possibility,” Biden told reporters at the White House as he returned from a trip to Michigan on Tuesday.