Top senator yanks his endorsement of Kamala Harris for her threat of a Congressional power grab

Independent Senator Joe Manchin said helium cannot backmost Vice President Kamala Harris for president aft she said she supports ending the Senate filibuster to walk termination protections successful Congress.

The outgoing West Virginia lawmaker who caucuses with Democrats has been 1 of the fewer holdouts to endorse Harris with conscionable implicit 40 days to spell earlier the election. 

On Tuesday, Harris said successful an interrogation she backs ending the filibuster so Congress can walk authorities codifying Roe aft respective different attempts by Senate Democrats since the landmark Supreme Court determination was overturned failed. But Manchin opposes the move. 

'Shame connected her,' Manchin told CNN. 'She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It's the lone happening that keeps america talking and moving together. If she gets escaped of that, past this would beryllium the House connected steroids.'

On whether helium volition backmost the vice president, Manchin rejected it saying 'that ain't going to happen.'

'I deliberation that fundamentally tin destruct our state and my state is much important to maine than immoderate 1 idiosyncratic oregon immoderate 1 person's ideology,' helium said. 'I deliberation it's the astir horrible thing.'

Democrats person been attempting to walk authorities to reconstruct nationalist termination protections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade successful 2022, but they request sixty votes to flooded the filibuster successful the Senate. 

They presently lone person a 51 spot Senate majority, and Republicans power the House. 

In May 2022, Democrats made their archetypal attempted to walk the authorities aft the Supreme Court determination leaked, but it failed. 

Every Senate Republican on with Manchin voting against it. Another effort earlier this twelvemonth besides failed.

'I've been precise clear, I deliberation we should destruct the filibuster for Roe, and get america to the constituent wherever 51 votes would beryllium what we request to really enactment backmost successful instrumentality the protections for reproductive state and for the quality of each idiosyncratic and each pistillate to marque decisions astir their ain assemblage and not person their authorities archer them what to do,' Harris said successful an interrogation with Wisconsin Public Radio aired Tuesday. 

Harris had vowed arsenic vice president to beryllium the tie-breaking ballot successful the Senate to extremity the filibuster for authorities to codify Roe, but her comments connected Tuesday people the archetypal clip she has reiterated her presumption arsenic a presidential nominee. 

While Manchin has astatine times praised the vice president since she took implicit the apical of the ticket, helium had not yet officially endorsed her. 

Manchin, who is retiring astatine the extremity of the year, was 1 of the aggregate Democratic lawmakers who called for Biden to exit the statesmanlike contention and walk the torch aft his disastrous statement show successful June.

When Biden did exit the contention successful July, determination was a infinitesimal of speculation implicit whether Manchin would run, but helium rapidly ruled it out.

Instead, Manchin called for a mini-primary dissimilar galore of his Democratic colleagues who instantly followed Biden's pb and endorsed Harris. 

Since the vice president has locked successful the nomination, Manchin has offered immoderate praise for her and her campaign.

In an interrogation with the New York Times past month, helium called immoderate of the things helium has heard from them 'encouraging.' 

He besides called what she was capable to execute successful conscionable 3 weeks 'amazing' and 'an unbelievable job' arsenic the vice president ramped up a statesmanlike run successful a substance of weeks aft taking implicit the apical of the ticket.

'I’ve been surprised. She’s done immoderate bully things. First of all, my narration with Kamala goes backmost to erstwhile she came into the Senate,' Manchin told the Times past month, describing her arsenic 'very bright, precise smart.'