- Rep. Ilhan Omar blasted Sen. Joe Manchin after he said he could not vote for the Build Back Better plan.
- "Let's be clear: Manchin's excuse is bullshit," Omar tweeted on Sunday.
- "I can't get there. This is a no," Manchin said on Fox News earlier on Sunday.
Rep. Ilhan Omar blasted Sen. Joe Manchin after he said on Sunday he would not support President Joe Biden's $2 trillion social spending plan known as Build Back Better.
Manchin's announced opposition effectively dooms the bill that needed support from all Senate Democrats in order for it to pass.
"I've tried everything humanly possible, I can't get there. This is a no," Manchin said in a Fox News interview where he abruptly announced his final stance against the bill.
In a statement, Manchin cited inflation and high federal debt among other reasons for withholding his support for the Build Back better Act.
"My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face," Manchin said.
"I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight," he added.
Omar called Manchin out on Twitter, claiming Manchin's West Virginia constituents would have benefitted from the legislation, which would renew monthly child tax credit payments, establish universal pre-K, and combat the climate emergency, among other initiatives.
"Let's be clear: Manchin's excuse is bullshit. The people of West Virginia would directly benefit from childcare, pre-Medicare expansion, and long term care, just like Minnesotans," the Minnesota lawmaker tweeted.
The White House slammed Manchin's "sudden and inexplicable reversal" while Republicans applauded him.