Joe Manchin, the West Virginian who represents the crucial 50th Democratic vote in the Senate, surprised Washington last week with a dramatic about-face. Just weeks after rejecting his party's climate legislation, he reversed course and announced he'd reached a deal with Democratic leaders to send a climate bill to the president's desk.
However, it later became clear that, in exchange for his support, Democrats granted Manchin numerous pro-fossil fuel provisions, including a measure that would essentially force the Biden administration to open up more federal lands for oil and gas drilling.
On this week's episode of our environmental policy podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law reporter Bobby Magill joins us to break down the legislative horse trading that led to Manchin's reversal and also about whether environmental activists can stomach the latest additions to the bill.
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