Joe Manchin May Leave Dem Party To Become Independent: Report
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) holds all the cards and according to a new report he is playing them. He told associate, and Joe Biden, that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if they do not agree to cut the size of the spending boondoggle from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion.
Manchin said he has a plan if they force his hand and that would be to declare himself an “American Independent.”
If Manchin left the Dems and goes independent he can caucus with whomever he wants – if he goes with the GOP, Mitch McConnell is in control, if he goes with the Dems, Chuck Schumer keeps the gavel.
AOC and the far-left may have just sunk Biden’s entire presidency.
Manchin also said, according to the report, that if he stays it will be temporary and that by November 2022 he will probably leave the party anyway.
Manchin denied the report telling CNN: “It’s bullshit. I have no control of rumors.”
From Mother Jones:
He told associates that he has a two-step plan for exiting the party. First, he would send a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, removing himself from the Democratic leadership of the Senate.
(He is vice chairman of the Senate Democrats’ policy and communications committee.) Manchin hopes that would send a signal.
He would then wait and see if that move had any impact on the negotiations. After about a week, he said, he would change his voter registration from Democrat to independent.
It is unclear whether in this scenario Manchin would end up caucusing with the Democrats, which would allow them to continue to control the Senate, or side with the Republicans and place the Senate in GOP hands. In either event, he would hold great sway over this half of Congress.
…Manchin told associates that he was prepared to initiate his exit plan earlier this week and had mentioned the possibility to Biden.
SCOOP: @Sen_JoeManchin has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party. And he already has an exit plan. Please read and RT. https://t.co/dReK7vyoma
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) October 20, 2021
BREAKING: Joe Manchin telling colleagues he is considering leaving the Democrat Party to become Independent
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 20, 2021
Manchin denies story he’s considering leaving Democratic Party: “It’s bullshit,” he told me. He added: “I have no control of rumors.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 20, 2021