A repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act is unlikely, at least in the near term, as it would have to make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate and past President Biden, but the move broadly marks an escalation of tensions between Manchin and Biden.
“If the administration does not honor what they said they would do and continue to liberalize what we are supposed to invest in over the next ten years, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening,” Manchin told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday. “And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill.”
The administration’s handling of electric vehicle tax credits has become a particular flashpoint in the feud. Manchin has lamented a delay in the imposition of battery component requirements and vehicle classifications that he believes allow too many expensive cars to qualify.
Broadly, in his Monday night interview, Manchin said the administration “broke their word to the American public.”
“This legislation was balanced. In the next 10 years, we are going to have enough fossil fuel to run our country and to help our allies around the world. We will also be investing in new technology for the future,” he said.
“Now, the Biden Administration has disregarded this completely. This was about energy security, and we have not heard a word about energy security out of their mouths since it was passed. It’s all about the environment,” he added.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the remarks in a press briefing Tuesday, saying the administration was “faithfully” implementing the law.
“We are faithfully implementing all the parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, including parts that we don’t like,” she said. “That’s what you do as president and as an administration. That includes components of the Inflation Reduction Act that don’t have anything to do with clean energy.”
Our colleague Alexander Bolton has the full story at TheHill.com.
