Manchin won't commit to voting for an infrastructure bill without GOP support: 'I don't think that's fair'
CNN
Sen. Joe Manchin, a key Democratic swing vote, would not commit on Wednesday to backing an infrastructure package along straight party lines, rebuffing a demand made by liberals who want to ensure he will be on board with a broader bill passed without Republican support if they support his bipartisan proposal.
"It should not be conditional," Manchin told CNN. "It should be based on the merit of what the bill is." The West Virginia Democrat did not rule out supporting a bill passed with only Democratic votes, but argued that asking him to commit to backing legislation advanced through reconciliation -- a procedural tool that would allow Democrats to pass a bill with a simple majority -- now is not fair.Senate Democrats have confirmed some of President Joe Biden’s picks for the federal bench this week in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for a total GOP blockade of judicial nominations – in part because several Republicans involved with the Trump transition process have been missing votes.
Donald Trump is considering a right-wing media personality and people who have served on his US Secret Service detail to run the agency that has been plagued by its failure to preempt two alleged assassination attempts on Trump this summer, sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking tell CNN.