Four times Manchin gave Biden a lump of coal ahead of possible 2024 showdown

This year will mark Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) final session in the Senate, a tenure marked by moments in which he pushed back on President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Rather than seek reelection to his coveted seat, the West Virginia Democrat said he plans to travel the country in hopes of unifying the divided political wings. The decision has sparked speculation about Manchin’s presidential ambitions and whether he could challenge Biden again, but this time for the highest office in the land.

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Here are the moments Manchin blocked Biden and Democrats’ agenda in Congress this year:

1. Manchin’s Inflation Reduction Act anniversary promise

Manchin won the ire of Republicans after he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) came together to pass the Inflation Reduction Act last summer. The Democratic senator heralded the legislation one year later, though he cautioned in a statement on the anniversary of the bill’s passage that he would mount an “unrelenting fight against the Biden administration’s efforts to implement the IRA as a radical climate agenda.”

“Make no mistake, the IRA is exactly the kind of legislation that in normal political times both political parties would proudly embrace because it is about putting the interests of Americans and West Virginians first,” Manchin said.

“Going forward I will push back on those who seek to undermine this significant legislation for their respective political agenda,” he continued. “That begins with my unrelenting fight against the Biden administration’s efforts to implement the IRA as a radical climate agenda instead of implementing the IRA that was passed into law.”

2. Blocking Julie Su’s nomination as labor secretary

Biden nominated Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su in February to replace former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who left his post to lead the National Hockey League Players Association.

Her nomination was met with heavy criticism from Senate Republicans and centrist Democrats, largely based on her time leading California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency during the pandemic. Under Su, the state fulfilled between $20 billion and $32 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims, and roughly 5 million Californians saw their benefits payments severely delayed.

Following months of speculation, Manchin announced in July that he would oppose Su’s nomination, striking a major blow to her confirmation chances.

“I believe the person leading the U.S. Department of Labor should have the experience to collaboratively lead both labor and industry to forge compromises acceptable to both parties,” Manchin said in a statement.

“While her credentials and qualifications are impressive, I have genuine concerns that Julie Su’s more progressive background prevents her from doing this,” he continued. “For that reason, I cannot support her nomination to serve as Secretary of Labor.”

3. Derailing Gigi Sohn’s FCC nomination

The White House withdrew Gigi Sohn’s nomination to the key fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission in March after Manchin announced he was pulling his support for her confirmation.

Manchin argued in a statement that the criticism she was facing was “a result of her years of partisan activism, inflammatory statements online, and work with far-left groups. She has also spent many years as a public interest advocate, using similarly inflammatory language on social media.”

“For nearly 100 years, the FCC has been an independent, nonpartisan regulator of all forms of communication in American life, from radio to television to satellite. Unfortunately, over the last several years, it has become increasingly politicized,” Manchin explained. “Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that.”

Democrats have spent years trying to reclaim a majority on the five-seat FCC board, which would give them the control necessary to reinstate net neutrality rules undone by former President Donald Trump’s administration.

4. Pulling support for Biden’s long-stalled Labor nominee

Manchin and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) joined all Republicans to block Democrats from advancing Jose Javier Rodriguez’s nomination as assistant secretary of labor late last month.

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Rodriguez’s nomination, which would have him lead the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration, has been in the works for over two years. Biden first nominated Rodriguez, a workers rights attorney and former Florida state senator, to the post in July 2021.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee was deadlocked on advancing his nomination that year when the Senate was split 50-50 and committees were evenly divided. The stalemate caused Rodriguez’s nomination to expire, forcing Biden to renominate him to the position in 2023.