Biden’s fight with Manchin over key legislation adds to pile of overreach claims

Senators who helped President Joe Biden secure historic legislative wins last year are now experiencing regret. The latest bipartisan complaints from the upper chamber add to an ever-growing list of accusations that the Biden administration is exceeding the powers granted to the executive branch.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who provided the deciding vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, says that he is willing to go to court against the administration following what he believes to be the bill’s improper handling. The bill included a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles (EVs) designed to promote both green energy and American manufacturing. However, some buy-American provisions have upset the country’s Asian and European allies, and Biden has said that there were possible “tweaks” that could be made, even though the bill had already been signed into law.

Manchin later expressed anger after the Treasury Department announced that it would open electric vehicle tax credits to more foreign exporters’ products, a move that he says subverts the bill’s intention to bring manufacturing back to the United States while effectively turning over control to China’s Communist Party. The Senator is now threatening to sue.

Until recently, Republican senators also felt similar remorse after helping pass the CHIPS and Science Act. The Act was designed to promote American semiconductor manufacturing, but they were unhappy when the Biden administration mandated companies receiving money from the bill to provide child care, disclose their relationships with unions, share profits beyond a specified threshold with the government, and purchase supplies from domestic producers.

Allegations of executive overreach have been disputed since Biden took office. These claims include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium, the federal vaccine mandate for private employers, the federal mask mandate, Biden’s $400 billion student debt transfer, attempts to ban gas stoves and curtail independent contracting, and an effort to expand the definition of “waters of the United States.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito spoke up about the need for oversight in light of executive overreach claims. Since taking office, the Biden administration has imposed 539 regulatory actions creating costs of $359 billion, according to an analysis from the American Action Forum.

The Supreme Court may be the largest check on Biden’s power, now that the Republicans control the House of Representatives. Recently, the high court struck down a series of pandemic-related administration moves, including the eviction moratorium, vaccine and mask mandates, and efforts to regulate emissions, and may do the same with student loans too.