Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) criticized President Joe Biden over the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which the West Virginia senator played a major role in passing. Machin expressed his displeasure in the Wall Street Journal, which could indicate that he may be planning a future in politics.
Manchin’s op-ed comes after months of criticism of how the president implemented the measure. Despite being named the Inflation Reduction Act, higher prices are still affecting American consumers.
Furthermore, Manchin’s support was contingent on a number of energy production measures, which the senator believes have not been properly put in place.
Machin wrote that the bill was intended to account “for the reality that our economy and everyday Americans will rely on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future while also diversifying energy sources. The law invests in cleaner production and use of fossil fuels while also advancing energy technologies of the future. It bolsters energy security while reducing emissions, tasks that can be accomplished simultaneously if done thoughtfully.”
Despite this and some increases in oil drilling and coal extraction, Manchin wrote that the White House “touted the bill as a transformational piece of green-energy legislation.”
“Despite this administration’s best efforts to botch the law’s implementation, fossil-fuel projects are getting off the ground because of the act,” Manchin wrote.
Earlier this year the senator threatened to help repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. He has stated in interviews and another op-ed that the Biden administration was not taking traditional energy production seriously enough.
Manchin also broke with Democratic Party leadership over the role of a congressional dress code. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) instituted a relaxed version of the code recently, as a seeming concession to Sen. John Fetterman (D-NY).
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin to issue bipartisan resolution to reinstate dress code https://t.co/DbtZJKhAzg
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 22, 2023
Under Schumer’s new rules, the prior requirement to wear a suit jacket and tie or other business apparel would be relaxed. Manchin’s office said that he would file a resolution to restore the Senate’s former dress code.
