Members-Only Article

Was BBB Doomed As Soon As BIF Passed?

WASHINGTON, DC June 24, 2021: US President Joe Biden and United States Senators following a meeting regarding infrastructure negations at the White House on June 24, 2021. Biden invited Republican and Democratic se... WASHINGTON, DC June 24, 2021: US President Joe Biden and United States Senators following a meeting regarding infrastructure negations at the White House on June 24, 2021. Biden invited Republican and Democratic senators to discuss the infrastructure plan. The meeting included: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA). (Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS

December 16, 2021 11:39 a.m.

TPM Reader PT checks in on Manchin, BBB, and the current swoon:

For pretty much the entire time of the Biden Administration legislative activity, I’ve been of the opinion that the whole issue of the BBB was best understood as a kind of culture war. The problem that the Manchin caucus really has with the BBB is that it represents a Democratic Party in which the moderate / conservative / Manchin caucus is not firmly in the driver seat all the time, for all things.

This is a members-only article

Small Team. Big Results.

We’re proud of what our small newsroom has accomplished and it’s not hyperbole when we say that without our members, none of this would be possible.

Become a TPM Member

Free memberships available for students and those experiencing financial hardship.

Already a member? SIGN IN