In the Wall Street Journal, Senator Joe Manchin writes that he has a problem with the way in which the Biden administration is implementing the Inflation Reduction Act:
Despite explicit direction from Congress to pay down our debt in the Inflation Reduction Act, the administration seems more determined than ever to pervert that law and abuse existing authorities to increase spending.
When President Biden and I spoke before Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, we agreed that the bill was designed to pay down our national debt and shore up America's energy security. It was designed to generate $738 billion in new revenue, with more than $238 billion dedicated to debt reduction, the first serious piece of legislation in more than two decades that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would have done that.
Yet instead of implementing the law as intended, unelected ideologues, bureaucrats and appointees seem determined to violate and subvert the law to advance a partisan agenda that ignores both energy and fiscal security. Specifically, they are ignoring the law's intent to support and expand fossil energy and are redefining domestic energy to increase clean-energy spending to potentially deficit-breaking levels. The administration is attempting at every turn to implement the bill it wanted, not the bill Congress actually passed.
Oh spare me, Joe. Is President Biden doing all of these things? Yes, of course he is. Biden has been an absolute disaster for separation of powers from the moment he took office, and, despite repeatedly losing in court, he has showed no signs of slowing down. But Manchin knew all that before he inexplicably reversed himself and signed on to this bill. That the architects of this law had no interest in reducing inflation, paying down the debt, or protecting American energy security was extremely obvious to everyone involved from the start. Both before and after it was passed, it was described by its advocates as a "climate bill." Who does Manchin think he's kidding?
Later, Manchin complains that:
This impending crisis isn't an accident but a result of the inaction of various actors who refuse to confront fiscal reality, sit down, negotiate and make hard decisions for the sake of our nation's future. While all parties have a responsibility to negotiate in good faith, recent actions make clear to me that the Biden administration is determined to pursue an ideological agenda rather than confront the clear and present danger that debts and deficits pose to our nation.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've heard this all before: Manchin's worried about the future, about the debt, about our spending habits, about inflation, about everything. Except, he's actually not, is he? Sure, he talks a good game. He says he's opposed to shell games, and budget trickery, and open-ended legislation that can be abused by the executive branch. But when push comes to shove, he votes for it like a good boy who has eaten his vegetables. All Manchin needed to do last year was keep saying "No." Without him, this law would never have been passed. He didn't. Now, he must deal with the political consequences.
Joe Manchin knew exactly who Joe Biden was before he voted for the Inflation Reduction Act.
Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior writer for National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.