Manchin got a staffer to tell the White House he was about to tank Biden’s Build Back Better bill rather than do it himself, reports say

• The White House learned Joe Manchin would not support Biden’s spending package via an aide, per reports. 
• The news came 30 minutes before Manchin announced the decision on Fox News, per The Washington Post.
• Manchin’s statement prompted a rare and angry slapdown from the White House. 

A staffer for Sen. Joe Manchin, not the senator himself, contacted the call to the White House to inform them Manchin would not be voting for Joe Biden’s signature social care and climate change bill, per multiple reports.

Three sources told The Washington Post that Manchin indirectly informed Democratic leadership in Congress and the White House that he would not be voting for the bill.

Politico also reported that an aide made contact, and said that he refused attempts by the White House to reach him.

His position effectively kills the centerpiece of Biden’s domestic agenda, since Democrats have such a small majority that even a single holdout means they can’t get legislation passed.

The heads-up from the aide came 30 minutes before he announced the decision publicly in an appearance on Fox News on Sunday. 

—The Recount (@therecount) December 19, 2021

Biden invested considerable time and effort in seeking to persuade Manchin, a West Virginia moderate, to vote for the bill.

Its progress stalled for months amid opposition from Manchin and fellow Democratic moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. 

Biden hosted Manchin at his home in Delaware in October as he sought to reach a deal with him, and according to reports, personally called Manchin several times last week as he sought to get the bill over the line.

According to an angry slapdown from the White House following his interview, Biden and key officials had understood that Manchin had agreed to back the package.

Its blistering statement accused Manchin of “a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”

The Build Back Better bill would see $1.6 trillion invested in social care programs and measures to combat climate change in one of the most ambitious and sweeping government spending programs in generations. 

But Manchin on Fox News Sunday said that he wouldn’t be able to back the bill because of its potential impact on inflation and its large cost. 

“This is a no on this piece of legislation. I have tried everything,” said Manchin.