Manchin endorses W.Va. Republican in latest slam of Biden’s Build Back Better
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin endorsed Republican Rep. David McKinley in West Virginia, defending him against accusations that he supported President Biden’s Build Back Better social spending package that Manchin blocked.
Rep. Alex Mooney, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, has accused McKinley of effectively laying the foundation for Build Back Better when he voted to approve the $1.2 billion infrastructure bill that provided funds for roads, bridges, airports and broadband.
“I’ve always said if I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it. And that’s why I opposed Build Back Better,” Manchin says in the 30-second ad released over the weekend before the May 10 primary election.
”For Alex Mooney and his out-of-state supporters to suggest David McKinley supported Build Back Better is an outright lie,” the senator continued.
Manchin said McKinley has “always opposed reckless spending” that doesn’t benefit the state, while ”Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us.”
McKinley, who represents the 1st Congressional District, was pitted against Mooney, the incumbent in the 2nd Congressional District, when the districts were consolidated after West Virginia lost a seat in the 2020 Census.
Mooney has claimed that McKinley, who was among 13 Republicans who voted for the infrastructure package, provided momentum for the Build Back Better bill that included money for a number of social spending programs.
Manchin pulled his support for a compromise Build Back Better plan, effectively killing the legislation in the 50-50 Senate.
Both McKinley and Mooney voted against Build Back Better, which passed the Democrat-controlled House 220-213 in November 2021.
Mooney said in a Twitter posting that Manchin’s endorsement of his opponent is “further proof David McKinley is a complete and total RINO.”
Trump, in endorsing Mooney last week, referred to McKinley as a “RINO” — a Republican in name only.
“Congressman Alex Mooney is a conservative warrior running in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. His opponent is a RINO who supported the ‘Unfrastucture Bill’ and the Sham January 6 Unselect Committee,” the former president said in a statement on April 25.
“Alex fights for our Veterans, for Energy and Clean Coal, Election Integrity, our Borders, Jobs, and against the horrible drug epidemic,” he said.
McKinley said he voted to approve the bipartisan infrastructure bill because it would help the Mountain State.
“America’s infrastructure has been in dire need of modernization and this bipartisan infrastructure bill is what community leaders from one panhandle to the other have expressed that West Virginia needs to restore our aging infrastructure,” he told MetroNews at the time.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican ally of Trump, has endorsed McKinley, praising his vote for the infrastructure measure.
“Frankly, I do not agree with his vote to authorize a January 6th investigative committee,” the governor said.
“However, it did take a lot of courage for him to vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and I know without question that vote was done out of his love for the great people of West Virginia. The infrastructure dollars we will receive will positively impact the lives of all West Virginians in a major way,” he said.
