Manchin says he'd pass parts of Biden's agenda. But Democrats may have to write the bill for him.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin says he’s still interested in passing major pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda — but sources close to Manchin, D-W.Va., say Democrats may be making a big mistake by waiting for him to lay out precisely what he’d support.Manchin has expressed interest in passing a bill through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process that would raise taxes, reduce the deficit, cut prescription drug costs and fund energy and climate measures, even though some Democrats fear he is running out the clock. He also began leading bipartisan talks on energy over the last two weeks, prompting worries among Democrats that he’s losing interest in a party-line bill to pass major climate policies.But sources close to Manchin believe Democrats are making an error by passively waiting for him to craft his own detailed legislation, which many in the party have grumbled he should do ever since he rejected Biden’s Build Back Better plan in December.People familiar with Manchin’s thinking say he has repeatedly laid out his demands in public but that he’s unlikely to put pen to paper to write a reconciliation bill — that’s a job for Democratic leaders.“The best approach would be for the White House to…
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