WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia slammed fellow MP Bernie Sanders on Friday night for his attempts to gain support for President Joe’s multibillion-dollar spending program Biden in the latest example of infighting between key lawmakers over the plan.

Manchin tweeted his concern about the scope of the legislation in response to an op-ed by Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, defending it.

The West Virginia Charleston Gazette-Mail newspaper on Friday ran an op-ed by Sanders urging support for the Democratic plan to tackle wealth inequality, soaring pharmaceutical costs, an increasingly expensive healthcare system and expensive daycare.

“Senator Sanders’ response is to spend more money on an already overheated economy when 52 other senators are gravely concerned about this approach,” Manchin said in a statement. job Friday on Twitter, calling Sanders “out of state.”

The bill is threatened by a lack of support among Senate Republicans and two moderate Democrats – Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Sinema told Democrats in the House of Representatives she would not vote for the package until Congress approves a separate bipartisan $ 1,000 billion infrastructure bill.

Sinema and Manchin balked at the $ 3.5 trillion initial price tag of the Biden plan for a spending measure to fund social programs and tackle climate change. As a result, the president faces a difficult balance in trying to cut costs without alienating the progressive Democrats who are also essential to passing the legislation.

Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Andrea Ricci

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