Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) is reportedly willing to support some form of a tax on billionaires.
The Washington Post reported Friday that Manchin told the White House he would support the tax as part of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan, citing three people familiar with his private offer.
The outlet noted the tax “still faces long odds to approval” as part of the final bill. Other Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate have been skeptical of it.
Earlier this week, the Post reported on details of Manchin’s offer. According to the sources, Manchin mentioned the billionaire tax toward the bottom of the list.
It is unclear whether Manchin included a revenue estimate in his plan.
The Post’s report comes days after Manchin told Fox News he could not vote for the bill.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, I just can’t. I tried everything humanly possible, I can’t get there,” Manchin said.
He added, “This is a no, on this legislation.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded in a statement, as IJR reported.
“Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances,” Psaki said.
She added, “Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework ‘in good faith.'”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is still confident the bill will pass.
“Well, we never give up…This will happen, it must happen, and we will do it as soon as we can. There are conversations that are ongoing, but we cannot walk away from this commitment,” Pelosi said during an event in California.
She continued, “I have confidence that Sen. Manchin cares about our country and that at some point very soon, we can take up the legislation. I am not deterred at all.”