In an e-mail to the Gazette-Mail, Manchin spokeswoman Sara Payne Scarbro said the senator and his wife, Gayle, had "planned a holiday gathering over a year ago with all their children and grandchildren as they will not all be together on Christmas Day."

"While he regrets missing the votes, it was a family obligation that he just could not break," Payne Scarbro said. "However, he has been clear on where he stands on the issues."