Has Manchin Doomed the Build Back Better Plan?

<p>Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was always going to be the last Democrat to get on board with President Biden’s $2.2 trillion climate, social spending and tax bill. But the White House was confident that a compromise could be reached.</p><p>On Sunday, that confidence was shattered: In an interview on Fox News, Mr. Manchin essentially declared that he could not support the bill as written, and he indicated that he was done negotiating all together.</p><p>Where does this leave Mr. Biden’s signature domestic policy goal?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-cochrane?smid=pc-thedaily">Emily Cochrane</a>, a correspondent for The New York Times, based in Washington.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Mr. Manchin said on Sunday that he could not support the president’s signature bill,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/us/politics/manchin-build-back-better.html"> dooming his party’s drive to pass its marquee domestic policy</a> legislation as written.</li><li>Mr. Biden and his top aides have tried to salvage hopes of passing their domestic agenda, acknowledging that their only path forward is<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/20/us/politics/build-back-better-schumer-manchin.html?searchResultPosition=7"> to repair a broken relationship with Mr. Manchin</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>