Manchin deal ‘desperate attempt’ by Democrats to distract voters, says member of House Republican leadership

As Senate Democrats tout a deal to advance a pared down version of Build Back Better, which stalled last year over objections from moderate Democratic senators, Republicans are calling the proposal a distraction as the country faces record-high prices and inflation.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., announced he had reached an agreement with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Wednesday evening on an economic bill that, if passed, would both move the Build Back Better agenda forward and also “address record inflation by paying down our national debt, lowering energy costs and lowering healthcare costs.” 

But Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP’s House elections arm, said the deal is meant to distract voters from Democratic policies that led to the skyrocketing inflation.

“This is Democrats’ latest desperate attempt to get voters to forget they’re paying record high prices for everything, and Democrats’ policies are directly to blame,” Emmer told Fox News Digital.

MANCHIN, SCHUMER AGREE TO VASTLY PARED BACK VERSION OF BUILD BACK BETTER

Republicans have made the economy and inflation the main midterm issues, and a June Fox News poll shows voters trust the GOP to handle inflation more than Democrats.

Democrats running in tight races have pushed the Biden administration to take more steps to fight inflation, and the president urged Congress earlier this month to move quickly on an economic bill before the August recess — a critical time for members of Congress to campaign during election years.

“Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it,” Biden said in a White House statement released July 15.

While…