Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have been accused of "sabotaging" Biden's plan, according to Bernie Sanders.
Sanders slammed two Senate Democrats who voted against aspects of Biden's economic proposal.
His remark comes at a time when Democrats are growing increasingly doubtful that even elements of Biden's program will be passed.Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema were singled out by Sanders on Sunday, with the Vermont senator accusing the two centrist Democrats of "sabotaging" Vice President Joe Biden's agenda."You've got two senators, Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema, who have destroyed everything the president has been fighting for," Sanders said on "Meet the Press" with NBC's Chuck Todd.
Todd retorted that "sabotage" was a "strong word," but Sanders went on the offensive against his Democratic colleagues. Sanders, a Vermont independent who votes with Democrats in the Senate, is also a member of Manchin's Democratic leadership team.
"You had 48 senators that wanted to move forward with an agenda that benefited working families and was willing to stand up to the affluent and powerful," Sanders said. "You have a president who wishes to do so. We were stopped by two people."Although Sanders and Manchin have sparred in the past, progressive Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated with Manchin and Sinema. Parts of Biden's ambitious climate and spending plan, dubbed "Build Back Better," have been blocked from becoming law by the two senators.
In January, Manchin reacted angrily to Sanders' suggestion that the West Virginia Democrat would face a primary challenge.
"Well, Senator Sanders is not a Democrat," Manchin remarked at the time, adding that Sanders' stance "does not represent the majority of Americans."
There is still hope that a scaled-down version of the $3.5 trillion program would pass, but Democrats are running out of time as the midterm elections near.
Both Manchin and Sinema have expressed alarm about rising inflation, which has reached a 40-year high. Their concerns about inflation have further increased to their pessimism about even tiny portions of Biden's plan becoming law. Manchin has also cast doubt on universal pre-kindergarten and other components of the original plan, as Insider previously reported.
The White House has previously chastised Manchin, causing him to effectively kill Build Back Better last year. Biden and his staff have avoided publicly questioning Manchin's commitment since then.
Manchin most recently supported Senate Republicans in stopping Democrats from enacting federal abortion laws. Manchin told reporters that he agrees with the Democrats' idea to codify Roe v. Wade, but that it goes too far. Biden issued a statement criticizing Senate Republicans for voting against the plan, but there was no mention of Manchin's opposition.
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