Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a speech on Tuesday that he does not know whether he should remain a Democrat, though he believes “it would be much easier” to become a Republican.
“But is that the purpose of being involved in public service: because it’s easy?,” he asked, according to Just the News.
In a conversation with the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Manchin said people approach him “every day” about switching his party affiliation.
“Do you think by having a D or an I or an R is going to change who I am? I don’t think the R’s would be any more happier with me than D’s are right now,” Manchin said. “I mean that’s about as blunt as I can put it, so I don’t know where in the hell I belong.”
Manchin’s comments come amid widespread speculation that he may change his party affiliation, either by joining the Republican Party or, more likely, by becoming an independent.
These rumors have swirled because of Manchin’s opposition to the price tag of President Joe Biden‘s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which focuses on expanding the welfare state and the green-energy industry.
Manchin as well as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., want the Democrats to cut the spending bill in half.
