Manchin announces opposition to Biden IRS pick

March 8 (UPI) -- West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that he would vote against President Joe Biden's choice to lead the Internal Revenue Service, because of how the administration has implemented the Inflation Reduction Act.

Manchin is unhappy with the Biden administration's implementation of electric vehicle tax credits and other green energy programs that were pushed into law last year.

"At every turn, this administration has ignored congressional intent when implementing the Inflation Reduction Act," he said in a statement, criticizing the administration's decision to delay guidelines about who receives the EV tax credits. "While Daniel Werfel is supremely qualified to serve as the IRS Commissioner, I have zero faith he will be given the autonomy to perform the job in accordance with the law and for that reason, I cannot support his nomination."

Manchin's opposition is unlikely to sink Werfel's nomination because he received bipartisan support from the Senate Finance Committee.

However, three Democrats are expected to miss the vote. Sen. Dianne Feinstein was hospitalized last week with shingles. Sen. John Fetterman is hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center while he is treated for depression. And Sen. Tom Carper will miss the vote because of COVID-19.

The Senate is expected to vote on Werfel's confirmation Wednesday evening.