Sen. Joe Manchin came up with a new demand to weaken and delay President Joe Biden’s agenda this week, leaving Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin “stunned” as well as “frustrated and disappointed.” Manchin now insists that the extension of the expanded child tax credit must last for 10 years—but he’s sticking to his $1.75 trillion over 10 years limit on the size of the overall bill. That means that the vast majority of the bill would be the child tax credit, with little left over for a long list of other priorities. As many times as Manchin has moved the goalposts just as it seemed Biden and Democratic leaders had assuaged his ego enough to move forward, negotiating with this one guy is like negotiating with at least a dozen average mediocre white men all at once. But Biden continues to patiently seek Manchin's vote, saying in a statement, “It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote. We will advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead.” Read more