Majority Of Americans Support Manchin’s ‘Strategic Pause’ On Massive Spending Package

A majority of Americans agree with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia’s opinion there should be a “strategic pause” on Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, according to a No Labels poll on Thursday.

The survey of 972 registered voters shows 6 out of 10 support Manchin‘s position for a pause to “understand the implications” of the bill, including 78% of Republicans and 52% of independents. Democrats felt differently with 52% favoring “large scale social welfare spending now.”

Rural voters mostly aligned with Manchin with 70% supporting a pause, while only 47% of urban voters felt the same way. The poll showed that of suburban voters, who NPR reported are an important demographic to republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, 64% favored the pause.

No Labels put out ads advocating for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that already passed in the Senate, Axios reported.

Manchin cited rising inflation and debt as reasons he won’t support the $3.5 trillion bill in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal last week. Axios reported that Manchin is unlikely to back any proposal that costs more than $1.5 trillion, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Some progressives threatened to vote against the bipartisan bill if a separate reconciliation bill is not tied to it. Democrats hold only a slim majority in the House, which makes any defections a risk to the bill’s passage.

“Nothing would give me more pleasure than to tank a billionaire, dark money, fossil fuel, Exxon lobbyist-drafted ‘energy’ infrastructure bill if they come after our child care and climate priorities,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said Wednesday on Instagram.