In the aftermath of Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party for an independent status, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va. continues to be barraged by speculative questions of his own future plans with the Democrats.
On Sunday, Manchin avoided making any definitive statements about his party plans for 2023. Instead, the moderate Democrat criticized the hyper-partisanship makeup of the present-day Congress.
"If people are trying to stop something from doing so much good because of politics, thinking somebody else will get credit for it, let's see how that plays out. And then I’ll let you know later what I decide to do," Manchin told CBS's "Face the Nation" program.
"[The Democrats] know how independent I am," continued Manchin.
"The 'D' [in Democrat] does not saddle me to 'everything the Democrats want to do is right.' I don’t think the Democrats have all the answers. I don't think the Republicans are always wrong," added Manchin, while rationalizing his measured approach to party politics.
For her party-affiliation announcement on Dec. 7, which came just hours after Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock clinched the outright lead for Democrats (51-49 advantage at the time), Sinema reasoned she "never fit neatly into any party box" and "never really tried" to do so.
Manchin publicly empathized with Sinema's rationale, but also declined to say how his status might change when Republicans take control of the House chamber.
According to media reports, part of Manchin's frustrations with Senate Democrats lie with him being viewed as a swing-vote senator for every major piece of legislation.
The CBS interview followed up on those reports, in terms of asking why Manchin has remained with Democrats through the years, if the environment is so "toxic?"
"I really don't put much validity in the identity of being a Republican or Democrat. I think we're all Americans," said Manchin.
Later in the interview, Manchin was pressed about a reform measure he had championed, which ultimately failed to advance the National Defense Authorization Act.
"As frustrating as the political games of Washington are, I will not give up. As I have said from my first day in office, I serve West Virginians and the American people with an independent voice not a political party," said Manchin.
Last week, Newsmax chronicled Manchin's public stumping for energy-permit reforms, including "speeding up environmental reviews, expediting priority fossil and renewable projects, beefing up transmission lines," and garnering the approval of a natural gas pipeline in West Virginia.
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