Biden would not be happy about this!
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key swing vote in the Senate, has expressed his reservations regarding President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates for private business. This, ahead of the potential government shutdown proposed by Republican Senators who have announced they would not be willing to approve a new government funding bill unless President Joe Biden’s private business vaccine mandate was eliminated.
Joe Machin, a moderate democratic, may join the GOP’s effort to defund OSHA vaccine mandates as Friday’s government funding deadline approaches.
When pressed for comment, Machin mentioned his support for the government’s vaccine mandate on the federal government and the military but expressed his lack of enthusiasm to roll out similar mandates for the private sector.
According to Manchin, he is still reviewing the GOP-led amendment that would block funding linked to Biden’s vaccine mandate. Biden’s mandate would see businesses with 100 or more workers require workers provide proof of vaccination or submit weekly negative test results.
However, even with this support from Manchin, some conservative senators have proposed an amendment to the continuing resolution that would prevent a government shutdown and keep the government running and funded into February 2022. Democrats haven’t given any indication that they will permit this amendment to come to vote.
When a similar amendment was proposed in September, Manchin voted alongside the Democrats.
At the time, his vote was crucial for democrats as it required a three-fifths majority. However, this amendment effort would require a simple majority – meaning if all 50 Republican senators and Manchin voted accordingly, government funding would continue, provided Biden’s vaccine mandate would not be funded with the next continuing resolution.
In the meantime, GOP Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan, would be discussing the issue with leadership to see what amendment opportunities were available.
