White House tries to pacify Democratic senator upset at Kamala Harris doing media in his state without telling him
Joe Manchin annoyed at vice president plugging Covid relief without his knowledge
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The White House says it has “been in touch” with Senator Joe Manchin after he expressed surprise at Kamala Harris doing media interviews in his home state of West Virginia.
Mr Manchin was reportedly annoyed at not being told the vice president would be promoting Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief plan on TV stations in the state.
Mr Manchin, a conservative Democrat, is now a key vote in any major legislation the White House wants to pass through the Senate.
"We've been in touch with Senator Manchin, as we have been for many weeks and will continue to be moving forward," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
"Not only is he a key partner to the President and to the White House on this package, but on his agenda and we will remain in close touch with him.”
Ms Psaki did not confirm who at the White House had spoken with Mr Manchin after the vice president appeared on stations to plug the American Rescue Plan.
"I saw it. I couldn't believe it. No one called me," Mr Manchin told WSAZ last week after the interview with the vice president aired on the same channel.
"We're going to try to find a bipartisan pathway forward. I think we need to, but we need to work together. That's not a way of working together, what was done.”
During her TV interview Ms Harris touted their relief package and said she and the president believed it was necessary to “work with a sense of urgency” to address the impact of the Covid crisis.
Ms Psaki declined to say in her press briefing if the vice president’s interview was an attempt to put pressure on Mr Manchin to support the package.
"Our focus is communicating with the American people about how the American rescue plan can help put food on the table, can help ensure we can get vaccines in the arms of Americans and help send kids back to school," she said.
"That's our overarching objective with all of the communications we do."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments