Joe Manchin says he will vote against nominees if they don’t have bipartisan support

“I’m going to be very honest with everybody, if my Democratic colleagues and friends can’t get one Republican vote, don’t count on me. You can’t make it bipartisan, don’t count on me,” said the West Virginia Democrat who has announced his retirement that will begin in January 2025.

“I’m not leaving this place unless I can practice what I preach and I’m preaching, basically bipartisanship,” he said. “This is my little way of doing it.”

Manchin’s comments came in response to questions from CNN about President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Adeel Mangi, who would be the first Muslin-American on a federal appeals court. Many Republicans are vehemently opposed to him and accuse him having extreme views and part of a group they call antisemitic. Top Democrats strongly defend him and are pressing for a floor vote, after he was narrowly approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee in January, although they acknowledge not knowing if they have the votes to confirm him.

One Democrat, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, announced her opposition to Mangi on Tuesday.

Manchin did not comment specially about Mangi, other than saying he would look into his record.

Sen Lisa Murkowski, a centrist Republican from Alaska who often votes across the aisle, told CNN Wednesday she needs to examine Mangi’s record before deciding how she will vote.

For Manchin, he said there is one exception to his newly announced requirement of bipartisanship: “That’s my requirement unless they’re bats*** crazy. If they’re bats*** crazy left, I’m gonna vote against them anyway. If they’re halfway decent, they’ll get at least one Republican to vote for them.”

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