The News
Joe Manchin isn’t fading into the night as he nears retirement.
The West Virginia senator raced back from a speaking engagement on Wednesday afternoon (his office wouldn’t say where he was) to provide the deciding vote against National Labor Relations Board nominee Lauren McFerran, a huge blow to labor and Democratic leadership.
Manchin told Semafor that supporters were “playing hardball” to get his vote but he had already told them he would not vote for McFerran due to her support for the joint-employer regulation broadening the reach of labor laws.
“Hell yes, they know,” Manchin said. The vote was tied 49-49, with all Republicans opposed as well as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Manchin returned before Vice President Kamala Harris could break the tie. “The only thing they could do is catch me when I’m not there,” Manchin said.