Manchin indicates he won't jump into 2024 presidential contest



Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has said that he will not enter the presidential race.

"I will not be seeking a third-party run," he said Friday, noting that he won't be involved in a presidential bid and won't be a "spoiler."

On Thursday, when asked hypothetically who he would choose as a running mate for a presidential bid, Manchin had mentioned Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Manchin, who has been serving as a U.S. senator for more than a decade, announced last year that he would not seek re-election in 2024.

Former President Donald Trump has nearly cleared the field of Republican presidential primary challengers, and while former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley remains in the race, Trump appears to be on track to easily clinch the GOP's 2024 presidential nod.

Incumbent President Joe Biden is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, but the president appears to be on track to secure his party's 2024 nomination.

"The physical and communicative declines I've witnessed over the past few years are the same most Americans are now recognizing," Phillips said in a tweet earlier this month, referring to Biden. "It's sad and troubling, but not unusual for an 81 year-old man. However, I want to make it clear that I have not seen evidence of senility or major cognitive impairment."

"I've long known that President Biden cannot, and must not, serve a second term. Furthermore, the data is consistently showing he's almost certain to be defeated if he tries. Not just to any Republican, but to Donald J Trump," Phillips declared in another post.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a presidential bid as a Democrat last year but later switched to run as an independent candidate.

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Manchin condemns 'frightening decision' to nix Title 42 order, says it will result in an even greater flow of migrants along the southern border



Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and other Democrats have issued statements speaking out against the plan to terminate a Title 42 order. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the order will be be nixed effective May 23.

Even with the policy in place, the U.S. has been facing an ongoing massive flow of migrants, but the move could worsen the already significant problem.

"Today’s announcement by the CDC and the Biden Administration is a frightening decision," Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said in a statement. "Title 42 has been an essential tool in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and controlling the influx of migrants at our southern border. We are already facing an unprecedented increase in migrants this year, and that will only get worse if the Administration ends the Title 42 policy. We are nowhere near prepared to deal with that influx. Until we have comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform that commits to securing our borders and providing a pathway to citizenship for qualified immigrants, Title 42 must stay in place."

Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona also raised the alarm about the policy move.

“This is the wrong decision. It’s unacceptable to end Title 42 without a plan and coordination in place to ensure a secure, orderly, and humane process at the border. From my numerous visits to the southern border and conversations with Arizona’s law enforcement, community leaders, mayors, and non-profits, it’s clear that this administration’s lack of a plan to deal with this crisis will further strain our border communities," Kelly said in a statement.

"Today’s decision to announce an end to Title 42 despite not yet having a comprehensive plan ready shows a lack of understanding about the crisis at our border," Sinema said in a statement.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire issued a statement warning that the move will likely result in spike in migrants.

"Ending Title 42 prematurely will likely lead to a migrant surge that the administration does not appear to be ready for. I'll keep pushing the administration to strengthen border security & look forward to hearing directly from border agents during my upcoming trip to the border," Hassan tweeted.

"We have put in place a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to manage any potential increase in the number of migrants encountered at our border," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement about the upcoming termination of the Title 42 order.

"We are increasing our capacity to process new arrivals, evaluate asylum requests, and quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection. We will increase personnel and resources as needed and have already redeployed more than 600 law enforcement officers to the border. We are referring smugglers and certain border crossers for criminal prosecution. Over the next two months, we are putting in place additional, appropriate COVID-19 protocols, including ramping up our vaccination program," Mayorkas said.

Joe Manchin won't support a SCOTUS nominee if hearings are held too close to a presidential election: 'I'm not going to be hypocritical'



Joe Manchin, the highly controversial senator from West Virginia, said that he would not support filling another Supreme Court vacancy should another seat on the high court became open near a presidential election.

Manchin just clarified this to reporters, saying he was referring to a presidential election, not midterms. His initial comment was confusing because he voted to confirm Kavanaugh right before the 2018 midtermshttps://twitter.com/alexanderbolton/status/1493342904764579846\u00a0\u2026
— Seung Min Kim (@Seung Min Kim) 1644879012

Per the popular political blog HotAir, Sen. Manchin refuses to be hypocritical and is dedicated to applying to a consistent standard for all nominees regardless of who nominated them.

“I’m not going to be hypocritical on that,” Manchin said, “If it would come a week or two weeks before [a presidential election] like it did with our last Supreme Court nominee, I think that’s the time it should go to the next election.”

Manchin is referring to the 2020 nomination of now Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett whom Manchin ultimately did not vote to confirm.

After the Senate voted to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court, Manchin issued a statement on his website that said, “Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans chose a dangerous, partisan path to push through the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett eight days before this year’s November 3rd election further politicizing the highest court in the land.”

“I cannot support the nomination of Judge Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States on the eve of a Presidential election,” the statement continued, “It is simple — this nomination should have waited until after the election.”

Previously, Manchin indicated that he is open to supporting whomever President Joe Biden nominates to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court so long as that person has the requisite experience for the job.

In late January, Manchin told a local West Virginian radio show, “Whoever [Biden] puts up will have experience, and we’ll be able to judge them off of that, but as far as just the philosophical beliefs, no, that will not prohibit me from supporting somebody.”

The senator’s indifference to a nominee’s worldview is not unique to this instance.

In 2018, Manchin voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court despite public outcry and ruthless media scrutiny over his nomination.

I will vote to support Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.pic.twitter.com/1FfuMTOZz8
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Senator Joe Manchin) 1538769291

While running in the 2020 Democratic primary race, then-candidate Biden committed to nominating the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

In March 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed the now-president’s decision by stating that Biden is “absolutely” committed to nominating an “African-American woman to the Supreme Court.”

Biden’s prioritization of race and gender in his nominee selection process has earned considerable scrutiny and condemnation from people across the political spectrum.

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