On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) vowed that he will not vote for packing the courts or ending the filibuster if Democrats take the majority in the Senate. Manchin also expressed opposition to defunding the police, Medicare for all, and the Green New Deal.
Manchin discussed the possibility of a 50-50 split in the Senate, with Democrats holding the majority due to the vice president breaking the tie. Manchin stated that if this is the case, Democrats won’t be able to pass anything if they lose one Democratic senator.
He then stated, “I commit to you tonight, and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that’s watching, I want to allay those fears, I want to rest those fears for you right now. Because when they talk about, whether it be packing the courts or ending the filibuster, I will not vote to do that. I will not vote to pack the courts. I think — and I will not vote to end the filibuster. … I will not be the 50th Democrat voting to end that filibuster or to basically stack the court, and in all the other things you’re hearing about, Bret, also, defund the police. I don’t know of any of the Democrats in the caucus that are for defunding the police. We’re not for that whatsoever. And when they talk about basically, Medicare for all, we can’t even pay for Medicare for some. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Manchin later added that Democrats have been “tagged” that all Democrats must support “crazy stuff” like the Green New Deal, and he doesn’t.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett