Far more congressional Democrats align themselves with Sanders’ views than with Manchin’s, so the frustration is building about the West Virginia Democrat — both over his refusal to gut the filibuster in order to raise the national debt ceiling and his reluctance to divulge much about his negotiations over the larger economic package.
Neither Manchin nor Sinema addressed their caucus during a lunch meeting Thursday where they talked about their plans to move the Biden agenda.
And Democrats say that’s not unusual.
“Off the charts,” one Democratic senator told CNN on Thursday when asked about the caucus’ frustration with Manchin, contending many senators privately gripe that the West Virginia Democrat takes his public stands for “publicity” reasons.
Biden himself has sounded exasperated at both Manchin and Sinema, according to Democratic lawmakers who have spoken to him. The President told progressives this week that he has spent many hours with the two senators “and they don’t move,” two sources said. Biden even contended that Sinema didn’t always return calls from the White House, the sources added.
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