Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) delivered a hammer blow to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better spending package Sunday, announcing on Fox News that he couldn’t vote for it because he thinks it’s too expensive. However, according to HuffPost, Manchin was heard in Congress discussing another problem he has with Biden’s domestic spending plan—that it would give low-income parents money that they might waste on drugs. Two unnamed sources said to be familiar with the alleged comments told the site that the senator was heard speculating that parents might buy drugs with monthly child tax credit payments instead of providing for their kids. He is also reported to have said that Americans might fake an illness to claim paid sick leave to go on hunting trips. According to HuffPost, Manchin’s purported comments “shocked several senators.” His office declined to comment on HuffPost’s report.
