White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki released a statement slamming Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) for announcing on Fox News that he will not support President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

Manchin dealt a major blow to the social spending bill by announcing on Sunday that he won’t support it after months of negotiating efforts from his fellow Democrats. In a responding press release, Psaki accused Manchin of going back on his discussions with Biden about the bill, and that his comments “are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.”

Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework “in good faith.

On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted—to the President, in person, directly—a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities. While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all. Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground. If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.

Psaki went on to defend multiple aspects of the bill and arguing that Manchin’s concerns about inflation and spending don’t hold up. She added that the White House will keep up the pressure and work on getting him to change his position.

Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word.

In the meantime, Senator Manchin will have to explain to those families paying $1,000 a month for insulin why they need to keep paying that, instead of $35 for that vital medicine. He will have to explain to the nearly two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work why he opposes a plan to get them the help they need. Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone — we cannot.

The post Jen Psaki Accuses Manchin of Betrayal, ‘Breach of His Commitments’ in Scathing Response to Senator’s Build Back Better Opposition first appeared on Mediaite.

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