Joe Manchin on Vice President Pence's attacks: It's 'why Washington sucks'

Eliza Collins | USA TODAY

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin thinks Washington D.C. "sucks," and Vice President Pence is one reason why.

Pence went after Manchin Wednesday ahead of his speech to Repubican lawmakers in Manchin’s home state. Manchin is a Democrat up for re-election in a state Trump won by 42 points and he has not hesitated to vote with Republicans on a host of issues.

But Manchin voted against Republican-led efforts to repeal Obamacare, which did not pass and the tax reform bill, which passed late last year.

Joe Manchin voted NO to letting hard working families keep more of their hard-earned money. Joe voted NO on TAX CUTS for job creators. #JoeVotedNo — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) January 31, 2018

When the time came to repeal & replace the disaster of Obamacare, Joe voted NO. When we empowered West Virginia to defund Planned Parenthood, Joe voted NO. And when it comes to securing our Southern border, Joe said, “I’m not voting for the wall, either.” #JoeVotedNo — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) January 31, 2018

.@Sen_JoeManchin is going to keep voting against West Virginia & I think Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi are pretty happy w/ the way he votes. But WV needs to let him know that they EXPECT BETTER & they need to let Joe know that WEST VIRGINIA DESERVES BETTER. #JoeVotedNo — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) January 31, 2018

“I am shocked that after the Vice President worked for almost a year in a divisive and partisan way to take healthcare away from almost 200,000 West Virginians, bankrupt our hospitals, and push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations that he would come to West Virginia and continue his partisan attacks,” Manchin said in a statement. “The Vice President’s comments are exactly why Washington sucks.”

Manchin has enjoyed a cordial relationship with President Trump and was spotted frequently giving standing ovations to him Tuesday night during the State of the Union. After the speech, Manchin embraced the president.