Manchin doubles down on paid leave

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) doubled down Wednesday on his opposition to including paid leave in the spending bill even as House Democrats prepare to stick it into their legislation and send it to the Senate.

Manchin told reporters that their questions about the decision — announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) earlier Wednesday — was the first he was hearing of the decision. An aide confirmed that he hadn’t seen the House plan.

“That’s a challenge, very much a challenge,” Manchin said, adding that the spending bill is the “wrong place” for a paid leave proposal.

Background: House Democrats announced on Wednesday that they were putting paid leave back into bill. Pelosi said the decision came “at the urging of many Members of the Caucus.”

The provision will provide four weeks of permanent parental and medical leave, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the language.

Outside of reconciliation: Manchin instead argued that paid leave should be done outside of reconciliation, a process Democrats are using to attempt to advance their bill without GOP support. The arcane budget process comes with strict rules on what can, or can’t, be included in the bill.

“Let’s do that in a proper [way]. We’re trying to force it through reconciliation, which has guardrails and rules and regulations. Let’s do it and do it right,” he said.