Screenshot/C-SPAN
- Schumer gave a fiery speech condemning Republicans before the Senate voted to raise the debt ceiling.
- Manchin and Republicans thought it was out of line after 11 Republicans helped Democrats hold the vote.
- Manchin told Schumer his speech was "fucking stupid" as Republicans said it was "time to be graceful."
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has sided with Senate Republicans in strongly disapproving of a fiery, partisan speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday night before a vote to raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion.
Manchin reportedly told Schumer his speech was "fucking stupid," while Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said the moment was a "time to be graceful" after 11 Senate Republicans voted to break a GOP filibuster and allow the vote to take place.
In his three-and-a-half-minute speech, Schumer said the Senate was about to avoid a "first-ever, Republican-manufactured default," chastising Republicans for playing a "dangerous and risky partisan game" while engaging in "brinksmanship" for debts the US has already incurred.
"For the good of America's families, for the good of our economy, Republicans must recognize in the future that they should approach fixing the debt limit in a bipartisan way," Schumer said. "We hope Republicans will join in enacting a long-term solution to the debt limit in December. We're ready to work with them."
The Senate was able to reach a short-term, two-month deal on raising the debt limit after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made an initial offer to Democrats on Wednesday. Former President Trump criticized McConnell for "folding to the Democrats," but Republicans paid that little mind.
As Schumer continued his speech, Manchin could be seen behind him, placing his face in his hands and shaking his head in disapproval.
"Yesterday, Senate Republicans finally realized that their obstruction was not going to work," Schumer continued. "I thank, very much thank, my Democratic colleagues for our showing our unity in solving this Republican-manufactured crisis."
Manchin, continuing to shake his head eventually got up from his seat and walked away.
"Today's vote is proof positive that the debt limit can be addressed without going through the reconciliation process just as Democrats have been saying for months," Schumer continued. He concluded his speech by touting the Democrats' "Build Back Better" agenda.
-CSPAN (@cspan) October 8, 2021
According to Punchbowl News, Manchin later told Schumer that his speech was "fucking stupid." Speaking with reporters outside the chamber, the West Virginia senator said he didn't think the speech was "appropriate at this time," though he denied dropping an F-bomb.
"You're confusing me with my good friend John Tester from Montana," Manchin said, referring to the notoriously foul-mouthed Democratic senator.
-Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 8, 2021
And Republicans thought the speech was inappropriate. Senator Minority Whip John Thune, one of 11 Republicans who helped Democrats break a GOP-led filibuster and thereby allowed the vote to happen, said the speech was "totally out of line."
"I thought it was incredibly partisan speech after we had just helped them solve a problem," he told reporters.
-Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 8, 2021
Romney, who did not vote for cloture, reportedly told Schumer that "there's a time to be graceful and there's a time to be combative. That was a time for grace and common ground."
Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, another one of the 11 Republicans who voted with Democrats, reportedly called it a "classless speech."
Ultimately, the Senate voted 50-48 to raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion dollars, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against it. Lawmakers will have to vote again by Dec. 3, when the federal government is expected to again hit the debt limit at its current rate of spending.