The mystery of Manchin’s motivations
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 October 2021
⏱️ ? minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Biden’s economic agenda is on hold — thanks, in no small part, to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). The families in his home state could pay the price for it.
Read more:
The constant man in the middle, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), is trying to scale back the president’s Build Back Better economic plan. Part of the White House agenda on Manchin’s chopping block: the permanent expansion of the child tax credit. It’s a recent policy that experts say has been a key part of reducing child poverty in the United States, especially during the pandemic.
Amid reports that Manchin wants to impose caps and include work requirements for families receiving the credit, economics reporter Yeganeh Torbati takes us to the senator’s home state. And she poses the question: What happens when Manchin’s political calculations collide with the realities of West Virginians?
If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners - one year of unlimited access to everything the Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey friends, it's me V Spear and you might be wondering what I'm doing here out from underneath the desk floating around in podcast land. |
| 0:08.5 | This is my new show, The Interesting. The idea is simple. On TikTok I explain the news in little chunks and that's great. We have a lot of fun, but I wanted more time with y'all, so I created a space where we could do just that. |
| 0:22.8 | V Interesting from Lemonade Media out now. Listen Tuesdays and Fridays wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:33.2 | Ruth and James Jones live in West Virginia and they love their grandkids. |
| 0:38.6 | My little granddaughter who just turned 10, I've had her since she was born. So you're not working at this point? No, I am retired, medically retired because I have M.S. |
| 0:51.1 | And he works part time because during the day he has to take care of his elderly mother. |
| 0:57.4 | So you all are both taking care of two generations below you and one generation of those. That's a lot on your shoulders. |
| 1:04.7 | Yes, diapers to depends. Two different kinds of diapers. |
| 1:11.8 | Ruth and James are talking to Yegannette or Body. It was been reporting in West Virginia in the last few days. |
| 1:17.4 | I'm an investigative reporter on the economics team at the Washington Post. |
| 1:21.6 | I'm in West Virginia because right now the senator that represents West Virginia, Joe Manchin is playing a pretty pivotal role in the debates over President Biden's economic agenda. |
| 1:34.9 | Part of that economic agenda is this child tax credit, monthly payments to families to help out with their children. |
| 1:41.4 | This year the government expanded that tax credit, but Senator Manchin thinks that money is too much for too many people. |
| 1:48.5 | It's one reason that he's reluctant to support Biden's economic plan right now. |
| 1:52.8 | And in part why the plan can't move forward. |
| 1:55.5 | And for the people in Manchin state, continuing to get that money could be everything. |
| 2:01.0 | We're blessed. We make ends meet what we have. |
| 2:04.6 | But as the kids are growing, of course we need more money. |
| 2:08.8 | And then if they, I don't know, if they take his child tax the cup, because that really helps us every month. |
| 2:16.8 | That puts more money in here in case the kids need something. |
| 2:20.1 | We can go get it. But without that, I don't know. |
| 2:27.0 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.