Manchin ‘dug in’

Fights anti-coal moves

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin offered a lump of coal to his fellow Democrats after he demanded that $150 billion in clean-energy initiatives be removed from a budget bill currently making its way through the Senate.

Senate sources confirmed to The Post that Manchin (right) was “dug in” on climate issues.

“As a path forward there are two choices, compromise in some form or fashion or eliminate the cli- mate aspect from reconciliation and work on it thereafter,” said one senior Senate insider.

Manchin has already expressed cost reservations about the pending $3.5 trillion budget package.

The $150 billion earmarked for climate initiatives would be used to convert coal and gas-fired plants to ones that operate with cleaner tech like wind, solar and nuclear.

Manchin has also made it known that he is opposed to a provision in the bill known as the Clean Electricity Performance Program, which rewards utilities that increase their clean-energy supply — and punish those who don’t, The Washington

Post reported.

“We don’t comment on the state of our negotiations with the wide array of senators offering views about the Build Back Better agenda,” a White House spokesman told The Post on Saturday. “The White House is laser-focused on advancing the president’s climate goals and positioning the United States to meet its emission targets in a way that grows domestic industries and good jobs,” the spokesman said.

Coal has long been one of the most prominent industries in West Virginia and the state has drifted increasingly Republican as the left becomes more hostile to fossil fuels. Donald Trump won the state in 2020.

Manchin has angerly responded to an op-ed calling for passage of the budget package as is from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (lower inset) published in a West Virginia newspaper on Friday.

Manchin snapped, “This isn’t the first time an out-ofstater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state.”

The Senate is split 50-50.