Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a senator from West Virginia, said on Monday that he decided not to run for president this cycle because of the Senate’s recent inability to enact a long-sought bipartisan border security plan.
After months of negotiations involving Biden, Democrats, and Republicans, the border compromise collapsed earlier this month because of GOP resistance. This bill was a component of a broader emergency foreign aid package that addressed Indo-Pacific security, more funding for Ukraine and Israel’s war operations, and border security reform, following Senate Republicans’ repeated demands that any aid to Ukraine be conditional on such reform.
Members of the Republican upper chamber were also under intense pressure from Trump to veto the measure.
Roe v. Wade should be codified, according to Manchin. He hopes the court’s legal precedent will be codified into statute, with the statute’s language modified from the ruling. Manchin claims that millions of women have lost their freedom even though he is personally pro-life. Roe v. Wade, he said, was neither pro-life nor pro-choice enough; instead, it was the product of fifty years of precedent that helps women feel safe discussing abortion without fear of retaliation.
Regarding immigration, Manchin conceded that the United States is home to many people from other countries, but he characterized the border as the greatest threat confronting the nation. He criticized Republicans for sabotaging attempts to resolve the issue and blamed President Joe Biden’s policies for the surge of migrants attempting to reach the southern border.
After Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declined to put the Senate bill to a vote, a bipartisan group of moderate House legislators unveiled an emergency financing bill on Friday. The bill includes help for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and adds to the border security policy.
After months of rumors that he might run as a third-party presidential candidate, Manchin finally confirmed last week that he will not run for office. In November, he declared that he would not be running for Senate reelection and instead devote his time and energy to organizing a middle-ground centrist movement.
According to Manchin, Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma is the “most decent, honorable person and conservative in the entire Senate” due to his efforts on the border compromise.
