CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sen. Joe Manchin said he pays no attention to criticism or campaign donations when making decisions about what’s best for West Virginia.
Sounding somewhat exasperated when asked whether the dramatic bump in campaign contributions he‘s received from oil and gas interests in recent months influenced his voting, the conservative Democrat said no.
During a roundtable discussion in Charleston on Friday, he said his office’s outsized role in drafting the sprawling economic package signed this week by U.S. President Joe Biden made him the target of the “far left,” environmental activists and the fossil fuel industry all at once.