The White House took a personal aim at Manchin for what they saw as a betrayal of trust. The White House's Jen Psaki said that Manchin's comments were at odds with his discussions with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.
Manchin raised the same concerns about the bill that he had all along: inflation, rising debt and a mismatch between the package's 10-year funding and its shorter-term programs. Manchin had never taken a hard line on the legislation. The president and other Democrats have been lobbying him to support the bill, and he has spoken directly to Biden several times.
Chuck Schumer needs every Democrat to vote for the legislation, which only requires a simple majority vote. Manchin can single-handedly sink a priority that Democrats have spent much of the year working on because of that dynamic.
Democrats were angry at Manchin on Fox News. The senator had brought Biden an outline of a bill similar in size and scope that could lead to a compromise acceptable to all.
"If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a betrayal of his commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues in the House and Senate," she said. "Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word."
Some Democrats were steamed that Manchin hadn't called Biden or Schumer, even though his staff told White House and Democratic aides about his blow to Biden's agenda.
"Manchin didn't have the courage to call the White House or Democratic leadership himself ahead of time," said one Democrat.
The White House began to explore ways to keep the legislative initiative alive after tempers flared on Sunday. A White House official told POLITICO that there are critical elements of the social spending bill that need to be done. They plan to keep talking with Manchin and urge him to honor his previous commitments.
Moderate House Democrats and party leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pushed for the idea of a bill that included fewer programs but was paid for over more years.
Manchin made it clear that he opposed the legislation, which is a huge blow to Democrats who wanted to separate out Biden's agenda from his jobs and families plan. Manchin's bipartisan infrastructure bill is law but the party-line effort to pour money into education, health care, climate change and tax reform is dead in its current form.
There were few defenders in Manchin's party. Republicans have tried to get him to switch parties and give them the majority. Manchin has refused many times.
The White House was angry with Manchin after the negotiations with Biden went nowhere. Biden has always gotten along with the senator and has long believed that he should not push his former colleagues. White House aides were comfortable with the party-line bill slipping into early 2022.
White House officials believed that Manchin had been sending signals that a deal could eventually be struck, and that he had changed his mind. As Biden ends his term in 2021, there are a number of crises, including a surge in covid cases, high inflation, and a renewed push for voting rights.
It undermines Biden's argument that he could make government work again, that it's possible to deliver huge, significant changes to societal norms that impact Americans of middle and lower incomes. Even though his party holds all the branches of government, his agenda is in jeopardy.
Manchin is a validation of progressive fears that the infrastructure bill was a mistake without an explicit guarantee from all 50 Democratic senators to support the rest of Biden's agenda. The senator said he wants to see a vote on the legislation.
"We've been dealing with Mr. Manchin for months at a time," she said. He should vote no in front of the whole world.
Manchin said he would vote on the bill.
The bill will not be on the floor for a few weeks. The Senate left on Saturday for the holidays and won't return until early January.
The Democrats expanded the child tax credit. The credit would only be extended by a year in the spending bill, even though most Democrats think the party will keep trying to extend it permanently.
Laura Barrn-Lpez was a contributor.
