Democrats are facing infighting regarding President Joe Biden’s (D) 3.5 trillion budget. Some like Senator Joe Manchin (D) oppose it while others like Florida Rep. Omari Hardy (D) support it. Over the weekend, Manchin was interviewed over the budget, and his opposition to the budget has received criticism. In response to Manchin’s admittance of not voting in favor of the budget, Rep. Hardy took to Twitter to slam Manchin, arguing that Manchin wants “to keep rich ppl [sic] rich even if it means keeping poor ppl [sic] poor.”
During the interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Manchin reiterated that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) was not going to “have my vote on the 3.5.”
Affirming that he is a “hard no” on the vote, Manchin also shared that “it’s not going to be at three and a half, I can assure you” when it comes to a budget that would receive his support.
In response to his opposition, a number of Democratic lawmakers criticized Manching beginning with Senator Bernie Sanders (I).
In speaking to CNN, Sanders said that Manchin’s refusal to support the budget is “not acceptable to me,” adding that he doesn’t “think it’s acceptable for the president, to the American people, with the overwhelming majority of the people in the Democratic caucus.”
However, Manchin argues that several of the policies in the package are “social reform” policies that don’t require immediate action like the stimulus package that Democrats passed in spring.
On Twitter, Rep. Hardy further criticized Manchin, questioning his arguments for not supporting the budget.
He says he doesn't want to grow the debt & stoke inflation. But that's not a good reason not to spend the $3.5T. It's a good reason not to spend $3.5T w/out paying for it by taxing the rich. This is abt Manchin wanting to keep rich ppl rich even if it means keeping poor ppl poor. https://t.co/bjtroVzYkP
— Rep. Omari Hardy (@OmariJHardy) September 12, 2021
“He says he doesn’t want to grow the debt & stoke inflation,” noted hardy, “but that’s not a good reason not to spend the $3.5T.” Hardy added that “it’s a good reason not to spend $3.5T w/out paying for it by taxing the rich,” mention that “this is abt [sic] Manchin wanting to keep rick ppl rick even if it means keeping the poor ppl poor.”
