Tired of Senate stalemates, saying he is "not at all happy," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is weighing to get out Congress.
"I haven't been happy since I've been here," Sen. Manchin told The Hill. "I've always thought there was more we can do. It's the greatest body in the world, so much good could be done."
Manchin, a centrist Democratic senator from what has become a red state of West Virgina – President Donald Trump won the state by 42 points in 2016 – is now "looking at all the different plays" for a Senate exit, including a run for governor.
"I have people back home that want me to come back and run for governor," Manchin, 71, told The Hill. "We're looking at all the different plays. I want to make sure whatever time I have left in public service is productive."
Manchin's departure would put one of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's, D-N.Y., seats at risk to go to a President Trump Republican in 2020. Manchin served as West Virginia's governor from 2005-2010 before running to enter the Senate.
"The part that senators like Manchin who used to be executives, in particular, struggle with is the fact that literally nothing gets done," a Democratic strategist told The Hill. "Everybody knows the outcome before the votes even happen. There is no real desire to move legislation or solve problems, it's all about politics, posturing, and positioning.
"The reality is most of the other senators don’t have other options. They can't go be governors. I guess they can join the pool of candidates running for president."
Manchin, who is telling his friends in Congress, "I'll be here until 2020," could resign from the Senate after the certification of his gubernatorial election, which would leave GOP Gov. Jim Justice to appoint his successor, or before, which would allow him to appoint his own successor, The Hill reported.
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