Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday ditched an all-Democrats meeting with President Obama and then broke bread with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, moving to cement his post-partisan image in the new Congress, where the West Virginia Democrat hopes to play the role of “facilitator” — and boost his chances of re-election in 2018.
Along the way he may become one of the most important votes in the chamber, fought over by leaders of both parties.
In the days since the November election Senate Democrats elevated Mr. Manchin to their expanded leadership team, and President-elect Donald Trump wooed him as a potential ally — raising questions about where his loyalty ultimately will lie.
For his part, Mr. Manchin told The Washington Times Wednesday he wants to be a bridge builder and said there are upwards of 10 Democrats willing to meet Mr. Trump “halfway or even more than half way” on legislation.
“I always wish to be the facilitator if I can,” the 69-year-old said, adding that he has had “more constructive” conversations with Mr. Trump following the election than he has had with Mr. Obama over the past eight years.
“He has reached out to me in a positive note — more than I have had from our current president,” he said. “President Trump has from the get-go said, ’I want to work in a bipartisan manner, I want to find pathways forward.’”
Mr. Manchin announced Wednesday morning that he would not be joining his fellow Senate and House Democrats for a joint meeting with Mr. Obama on Capitol Hill to plot strategy on defending Obamacare.
Mr. Pence, meanwhile, held separate meetings with House and Senate Republicans, where they discussed dismantling the health care law.
Mr. Manchin said voters made it clear in the November election that they are sick of that sort of partisanship.
“I am the only person out of 535 that stayed away,” he told a local radio show.
And he took to Twitter to tout his “centrist” image, posting a photograph he took the previous day with Vice President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat, while also saying he had held “very productive meeting” with Mr. Pence.
“And I look forward to finding ways to work with him in the future,” he said.
Mr. Manchin stuck with fellow Democrats on the first vote of the new Congress, voting against the first step in repealing Obamacare.
His political allegiance will be more severely tested over the coming weeks, though, as Democrats lay plans to hinder Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks, including Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt — Mr. Trump’s nominees for attorney general and head of the Environment Protection Agency.
Liberal activists have painted Mr. Sessions as a racist and Mr. Pruitt as beholden to climate change-denying special interests, but Mr. Manchin is open to both picks.
“Being a former executive I think it is imperative for a person to put their team together,” he told The Times. “So you don’t have to get up every morning trying to think you have to convince your team to be on the same page. So that is important because I am going to judge you, you are the executive I elected, whether you are governor or president — unless we find something through the vetting process.”
Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, which will oversee Mr. Pruitt’s confirmation hearing this month, said he is optimistic about the role Mr. Manchin could play in the confirmation process — particularly given the importance of coal in West Virginia, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.
“I think he should be an ally in a lot of these appointments,” Mr. Inhofe said.
A former governor, Mr. Manchin was elected in a special election in 2010 to fill the seat of Sen. Robert Byrd, who died in office.
Mr. Manchin was re-elected in 2012, and has broken with Democrats on several occasions, butting heads with the Obama administration over coal regulations, and skipping Hillary Clinton’s coronation at the Democratic National Convention.
Mr. Manchin was not in Congress when Obamacare passed, but has said that it was a mistake for Democrats to pass it without the support of Republicans and said he would have probably opposed the law.
He now says he wants to repair the law, warning that millions would be left without insurance if it is repealed without a clear replacement.
Republicans say Mr. Manchin has always put re-election ahead of fighting for his constituents, and say he still supports policies — including Obamacare — that has hurt his constituents.
“West Virginians have emphatically rejected the failed policies of the Obama era, yet Joe Manchin is still defending Obamacare, which is sending health care costs through the roof for Mountain State families,” said Bob Salera, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
“West Virginians deserve a Senator who will stand up for them in Washington, not Joe Manchin, who is focused on preserving Barack Obama’s failed legacy.”
The West Virginia GOP, meanwhile, has dubbed Mr. Manchin as “Traitor Joe” and has highlighted his 2015 endorsement of Hillary Clinton, as well as his support for stricter gun control laws.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, also of West Virginia, downplayed the idea that Mr. Manchin is blazing a unique path on Capitol Hill.
“Well, the president-elect got 70 percent of the vote in our state, so I think it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that working with President-elect Trump is going to well accepted in our state, and I am sure Joe obviously recognizes that,” Mrs. Capito said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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