West Virginia Senator blocks Biden’s plans

Joe Manchin comes from a Republican stronghold and is the most conservative Democrat in Congress. With his blockade of central reform projects, he draws the wrath of his own party.

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West Virginia, located deep in the Appalachian Mountains, is one of the smallest member states; only a good half a percent of the American population lives here. But his Senator Joe Manchin is currently the most powerful man in Congress in Washington. A cartoon in The Week magazine recently aptly described its importance: In civics class, the teacher asks about the three equal powers. “Executive, judicial and Joe Manchin,” replied one student.