Manchin rejected a threat from McConnell to sink a bipartisan bill to compete against China.

[In It to Win It]

Business Insider via Yahoo News

en. Joe Manchin said on Monday that he's not dissuaded by threats from the top Senate Republican leader to sink a bipartisan bill strengthening economic competitiveness against China.

"I'm not walking away if anybody's gonna threaten me or hold me hostage, if I can help the country," the conservative Democrat told reporters. "And if they want to play politics and play party politics, shame on 'em."

Manchin added it was "so wrong" of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to issue threats to sink the bipartisan USICA legislation, which would boost federal investment on emerging technologies like computer chips. The Kentucky Republican reiterated the ultimatum, tied to recent Democratic efforts to resurrect their economic agenda, only hours later.

"Party-line scheming is going to crowd that out," McConnell said on the Senate floor on Monday. "Our side cannot agree to frantically steamroll through bipartisan talks in order to meet an artificial timeline, so our Democrat colleagues can clear the decks to ram through a party-line tax hike."

McConnell threatened to tank the China bill as Democrats make progress towards clinching a deal with Manchin on a scaled-down climate and tax economic spending package. Democrats launched a barrage of attacks against McConnell ever since, accusing him of siding with China.

[moniss]

1. All

posturing by both and pure BS by both.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. That sounded like a rehearsed speech!

[Irish_Dem]

3. I wonder how much rehearsal was needed for this political theater?

[CentralMass]

4. Manchin has the nerve to talk about someone holding him hostage on a bill ,?

[drray23]

5. it's like a good cop bad cop routine between McConnell and Manchin

Manchin wasted our time dragging negotiations and ultimately tanking any significant progress on most of Biden's legislative agenda.

Now he is again engaging with the party to come up with a bill to reduce medical expenses amongst other things. This time he can just play the outraged senator when it's McConnell turn to obstruct..

[Tomconroy]

6. Good move by the only democrat who could be elected in West Virginia!