Sen. Joe Manchin said the deflation law came as a surprise to most people on Capitol Hill and across the country because he didn’t want to “let people down again.” “The reason people didn’t turn to it, I didn’t think it would work,” the West Virginia senator told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday: “I didn’t want to let people down. again,” he added. Manchin has been a mainstay of the Rebuilding Better Plan — Biden’s social and climate spending bill — for more than a year, drawing sharp criticism from his Democratic colleagues and supporters. “With this, I didn’t want to build any anticipation” and then “take it down,” he told Tapper. Manchin said a select few officials knew, including the President. He said Biden “absolutely” knew the act was being built and “gave his approval.” The bill — which includes negotiations on prescription drugs, climate change solutions and tax reform — would need a 50-50 split in the Senate between Republicans and Democrats to pass. However, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, may be a holdout on the legislation. Manchin declined to say when he last spoke with Cinema. “We work very closely on so many things,” Manchin said, “and she has so much in this bill.” Cinema has not made its thoughts on the plan public. “Hopefully she’ll be positive about it,” Manchin said. “But she’ll make her decision. I respect that.” Senators Sinema and Manchin did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
