Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of the key swing votes in an evenly divided Senate, said Thursday that he wants to “pause” progress on President Joe Biden’s marquee $3.5 trillion infrastructure budget resolution. Progressives in Congress said they will not vote for a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that enjoys bipartisan support unless the budget resolution passes alongside it, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has agreed to the tandem approach, meaning Manchin’s reluctance threatens to tank both. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Manchin wrote, “While some have suggested this reconciliation legislation must be passed now, I believe that making budgetary decisions under artificial political deadlines never leads to good policy or sound decisions.” He argued that the bill was too large and posed a risk of inflaming inflation while not delivering “anything we need immediately.”
