Former Senator Joe Manchin just dropped a political bombshell in his new memoir that’s got Washington buzzing with betrayal and backroom deals.
The Washington Examiner reported that in his new book, "Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense," Manchin exposes a clandestine agreement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that capped President Joe Biden’s flagship spending plan at $1.5 trillion, infuriating Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Let’s rewind to July 2021, when Manchin, a Democrat-turned-independent, quietly inked this deal with Schumer, a move that sliced the progressive dream of a $3.5 trillion spending bonanza down to a leaner $1.5 trillion.
This wasn’t just a budget trim; it also decoupled the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law from the ambitious Build Back Better Act, a separation that progressives likely saw as a gut punch to their agenda.
Schumer, playing the role of political chess master, personally urged Manchin to keep this pact under wraps, a request that smells of strategic maneuvering rather than transparency.
“I explained that Schumer had asked me not to talk about the deal, a request by which I had abided,” Manchin writes in his memoir, a line that raises eyebrows about just how much trust exists in Democratic circles.
Call it a gentleman’s agreement or a sneaky sidestep, but keeping this under the radar meant Pelosi was left in the dark until late September 2021, when the truth spilled out during the annual Congressional Baseball Game of all places.
Imagine the scene: lawmakers swinging bats while Pelosi learns she’s been blindsided by her own party’s leadership—reports describe her as “furious,” and who could blame her for feeling played?
This wasn’t just a personal slight; it was a glaring signal of fractured unity among Democrats, with leadership playing cloak-and-dagger games while preaching party cohesion to the public.
From a conservative lens, this fiasco highlights the chaos of a party beholden to progressive pipe dreams, unable to reconcile fiscal restraint with their spend-happy base, and Manchin’s centrist stance looks like a rare voice of reason.
Yet, let’s be fair—Pelosi’s anger is understandable; no leader wants to be the last to know about a deal that reshapes their legislative battlefield, especially one this monumental.
The Washington Examiner got their hands on Manchin’s book before its official release, giving us this juicy tidbit of Democratic discord, and it’s a reminder that politics is often less about ideals and more about power plays.
For those of us skeptical of unchecked government spending, Manchin’s $1.5 trillion cap feels like a small victory against the progressive push for bloated budgets, though it’s hard to cheer when the process reeks of secrecy.
Still, this memoir’s revelations paint a picture of a Democratic Party at war with itself, and while conservatives might smirk at the dysfunction, it’s a sobering look at how little trust exists even among allies in Washington.
If nothing else, Manchin’s book serves as a cautionary tale: in politics, hidden deals can fracture more than just budgets—they can shatter the very coalitions meant to hold a party together, and that’s a lesson both sides of the aisle should heed.