Rep. Byron Donalds calls Manchin killing Build Back Better 'great news for the country'
Florida Republican reacts to Dem senator's opposition to spending bill.
Rep. Byron Donalds welcomed the "great news" from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., who declared he was a "no" vote on multitrillion-dollar Build Back Better spending bill.
"I think this is actually great news for the country," Donalds told Fox News on Sunday. "It was a bad bill. Everybody knows it's a bad bill, especially where our economy is. The answer is really for Washington to start spending trillions of dollars more that it doesn't have, we would be paying people to stay at home, we would be investing in this Green New Deal agenda - which is going to make energy costs even more expensive? And that somehow is the recipe America needs in order to 'build back better?' It's a joke. It's a bad bill.
"Joe Manchin is doing the right thing. I'm glad he said no," Donalds added.
MANCHIN SAYS HE ‘CANNOT VOTE' FOR BUILD BACK BETTER: ‘I’VE DONE EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE'
When it comes to the political fallout from his opposition to Biden's signature legislation, the GOP lawmaker predicted he will be in "good standing" with West Virginians amid the uproar from Democrats.
"Look, the people in his party can say whatever they want, but he represents West Virginia," he said. "The last time I checked, West Virginia is not California. I think he's going to be just okay… he's going to be just fine."
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Donalds, who was speaking at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, bashed the passing of Build Back Better as a member of the House Budget Committee, telling Fox News "there was no compromise" or "process," knocking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushing the bill through reconciliation on party-line votes.
"That bill was put together in the most heinous way," Donalds said. "Nancy Pelosi is the decider of what the policy is going to be and the other members of Congress have no ability to change it? That's why that bill sucks. That's why it's trash. That's why it looks dead in the Senate and we'll go from there."
Representative Byron Donalds, July 11, 2021. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Manchin shocked the political landscape during his exclusive interview on "Fox News Sunday," announcing he "can't vote" for President Biden's signature legislation.
"I’ve always said this, Bret: if I can’t go home and explain to the people of West Virginia I can’t vote for it," Manchin told "Fox News Sunday" guest host Bret Baier Sunday. "And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there."
"You’re done? This is a no?" Baier asked.
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"This is a no on this piece of legislation," Manchin said. "I have tried everything I know to do."
The senator said that the rise in inflation, the national debt and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic helped him come to his decision on the massive social spending bill.
Fox News' Sam Dorman contributed to this report.