Sen joe manchin It is not yet known what he will do next after leaving the Senate next month.
But whatever his future holds, he plans to host a congress of his former colleagues on his popular houseboat in West Virginia. Manchin has for years hosted politicians from both parties on “Almost Heaven,” which is docked in Washington, as his way of bringing together his allies on both sides of the aisle.
“I'm going to join,” Manchin tells CBS News “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” “The boat has stopped here.”
Manchin, who considered an independent presidential bid this year, said he would have “loved to have a platform” to make a point of centrist common sense, as he put it.
He expressed hope for the success of President-elect Donald Trump – despite previously saying that electing Trump would be “very damaging” to the country. Manchin said Riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021It was “a bridge too far” for him.
Manchin told Brennan, “When the people speak and make their choice and the election is over, you better pray that the president will be successful with everything you've got.” “And if you're in a position to help, you know how the system works and you can make it work, then do so. … It's about our country, and I want him to succeed. Ho, and I've said this to him, I will do whatever I can to help in any way humanly possible.”
Before winning a U.S. Senate seat in 2010, Manchin was governor of West Virginia. Since then, he has tried to work with both parties. He formally left the Democratic Party In May, registering as an independent.
Manchin is still hoping to push a bill through Congress to ease the permitting process for the energy industry. He said he encouraged Trump to do so during a conversation at the Army-Navy game in Maryland last weekend.
His Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 would facilitate a faster permitting process for oil and natural gas, renewable energy, mineral mining and transmission lines. It has not advanced in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Manchin said he hoped Trump would watch his interview with “Face the Nation” and seriously consider his bill.
“So now with this interview, I hope, I'm asking President Trump to really look at this permitting bill, because it's basically a nicer piece of legislation that we've ever had in a bipartisan way with John Barrasso, Manchin told Brennan, is going to be the No. 2 guy in the Republican Senate, a good man, a good friend of mine. “We worked hard and negotiated hard, and we have a good bill. It's ready to go. We have the bill ready. He can put it in.”
Manchin said he thinks Trump understands the political realities going on in Washington better than he did when he won in 2016. And the reality is that the Senate is more independent than the House, he said.
“I think he understands it a lot better now than he did in 2016 when he first won,” Manchin said. “So now he's got some experience under his belt. He understands the process, but he also understands what power he wields right now, how much influence he has with the House and the Senate,” Joe It will be in Republican hands in January. Manchin wants to keep the filibuster in place; Most bills must reach a 60-vote threshold for consideration.
“I think there are enough Republican senators and also Democrat senators, but Republicans have control because they are in the majority that they will not let the filibuster be broken,” Manchin said. “…I don't think they will do it. And it only takes five, or it only takes four, I'm sorry, it takes four Republican senators, just four, and I guarantee you, I think There's a lot more than four.”
Those Republicans, he said, “will protect the institution.”
“They've been here a long time,” Manchin said. “What happens is what happens, and in two years, this thing could turn around – 2026, you never know. That's the power of the people.”
Contributed to this report.