New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat, said West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, one of the party's moderates, engaged in an "egregious breach" of President Joe Biden's trust when he essentially killed the chances of the Build Back Better bill in the Senate.
Ocasio-Cortez's criticisms are only the latest to be directed at Manchin, who sparked anger within the Democratic caucus after he announced he wouldn't support the Build Back Better Act in its current form.
You can hear Ocasio-Cortez's remarks in the video below.
She said:
"Of course, we have every right to be furious with Joe Manchin, but it's really up to leadership in the Democratic Party, who made the decision to get us to this juncture. It's really about time that we take the kid gloves off and we start using them to govern for working families in this country."
"I think what Sen. Manchin did yesterday represents such an egregious breach of the trust of the president. It's an outcome that we had warned about well over a month ago.
"It's why we insisted on having the bipartisan infrastructure plan coupled and passed together with the Build Back Better Act."
Ocasio-Cortez stressed that not passing the bill will have a major effect on the country's ability to address the climate crisis:
"We cannot allow the climate crisis to become a catastrophe, which is what is represented right now with this bill going by the wayside or being trimmed down any further."
"Some of us are actually going to have to live on this planet in 50 years, and what happens right now determines how bad it's going to be. And so this is real life. This is serious, and we need to govern like it."
Many concurred with Ocasio-Cortez's assessment and offered their own criticisms of Manchin.
Manchin has been widely criticized for delaying attempts by House and Senate Democrats to codify much of their economic and social policy agenda via a major spending bill.
The plan is part of efforts from the Democrats to respond to the climate crisis, invest in infrastructure and expand education, healthcare and childcare.
It would constitute the largest broadening of the social safety net in years.
Yesterday, Manchin said Democrats had blundered in their efforts to court his vote since negotiations collapsed last week, saying they figured they could pass their agenda if they "badger and beat one person up."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced talks between Biden and Manchin will continue, though he did not offer a timeline.
Ocasio-Cortez has sparred with Manchin before, accusing him of holding up passage of an infrastructure bill because he is beholden to energy companies. She also criticized him after failed to use her official title and referred to her as a "young lady" in an interview.
Ocasio-Cortez said Manchin's remarks are emblematic of the sexism she has faced as a member of Congress.
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