Biden promises 'strong executive action' on climate change after Sen. Manchin dooms domestic agenda

Four things you should know about Democratic Senator Joe Manchin

The West Virginia lawmaker is one of two Democrats who opposes big parts of President Biden’s agenda.

Staff video, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden vowed Friday to take “strong executive action” to address climate change after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., doomed the president’s efforts to revive major pieces of his domestic legislative agenda.

Declaring he “won’t back down,” the president said he would use executive authority after Manchin on Thursday rejected proposals to combat climate change and raise taxes on the wealthy in negotiations for a spending package with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

What Biden is saying:

How we got here:

What it means for negotiations

Why the setback is crushing for Biden

Biden and Democrats had lofty ambitions to transform the economy and social-safety net, and to engineer the most significant climate provisions in U.S. history. But what began last year as a $3.5 trillion spending bill – dubbed Build Back Better by the president – is now gutted almost entirely. Omitted long ago were proposals for universal pre-kindergarten, free community college, national paid family leave, extending child tax credits, affordable housing and dental and vision coverage for seniors.

After Manchin torpedoed a slimmed-down $2.2 trillion Build Back Better bill last year, Schumer revived talks with the West Virginia senator in a last-ditch push to save some of the president’s agenda, particularly addressing climate, before the November midterm elections. The White House hoped to pass legislation via reconciliation, which would allow Democrats to bypass a potential Republican filibuster with a simple majority, but doing so would require all 50 Democratic senators to be on board.

The reaction

Manchin, citing 40-year-high inflation, said he won’t support anything “that causes more problems.” He also balked at efforts to scale back fossil fuels, characterizing it as unrealistic to shift to renewable energy in a decade. “I’m not going to be part of eliminating what this country needs to run the economic engine and the lives of human beings throughout America.”

The White House, which has refrained from talking publicly about the latest round of spending negotiations, declined to comment. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also declined to say whether Manchin gave the administration a heads up about his position.

Progressives blasted Manchin. “It seems odd that Sen. Manchin would choose as his legacy to be the one man who single-handedly doomed humanity,” said John Podesta, a former senior advisor to Barack Obama and founder of the Center for American Progress think tank. “But we can’t throw in the towel on the planet. Now it’s more important than ever that President Biden use all his authority to fiercely fight for the future.”