CNN host Alisyn Camerota sparred with senior Biden adviser Mitch Landrieu over excusing Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin opposing the administration’s climate bill.
Landrieu said the president will use his executive power to fight climate change rather than wait on Congress due to Senate Republicans and Manchin sinking the proposal. Camerota pressed him on the West Virginia Democrat making money off of his family coal company.
“Senator Manchin’s vote wouldn’t be consequential if 50 Republicans haven’t voted against every climate provision that’s been produced by this particular president,” Landrieu said. “It’s not Senator Manchin alone, but be that as it may, the president of the United States said today he is not waiting on anybody. His door is always open if Congress wants to talk to him, he’s here.”
“Yes, but hold on, why are you giving Senator Manchin a pass? He makes money from coal, what are you talking about?” Camerota pressed.
“I’m not giving Senator Manchin a pass at all,” he said. “All you did was talk about Senator Manchin. What I said is he and 50 other Republicans who have voted against this and nobody seems to remember that so I would like to remind everybody that the entire Republican caucus has been against this from the beginning as well as Senator Manchin has.”
WATCH:
The president traveled Wednesday to a former coal plant in Massachusetts, where he announced executive actions to combat climate change. The actions include providing additional funds to communities through a Federal Emergency Management Agency to combat the effects of climate change and increasing energy efficiency through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. (RELATED: Watch Bernie Sanders Lose It Over Manchin ‘Sabotaging’ Biden’s Agenda)
The adviser called climate change an “existential crisis,” then credited Biden with passing the infrastructure bill to combat the climate crisis.
Manchin, along with Senate Republicans, killed Biden’s approximate $300 billion climate legislation citing spending concerns about inflation. The climate agenda may have included placing fees on energy firms’ greenhouse gas emissions and establishing tax credits for producers of green energy.
The senator has struck major blows to the president’s policy proposals, including the $1.2 trillion Build Back Better bill and the Women’s Health Protection Act in February.