WATCH: Joe Manchin Says Climate Deal Had To Be In Secret To Avoid Disappointing

Joe Manchin voted against the climate bill that Democrats were prepared to pass. Then, he popped up in favor of a surprise bill, which included many of the budget appropriations Democrats had been fighting for — and it could actually succeed. But why the secrecy?

The New York Times analysis explains that Manchin got quite a few concessions in the deal — it offers tax incentives to power plants that use new technology to reduce emissions, and requires the auction of some additional government property for oil drilling. It also addresses care for coal miners suffering from black lung disease, and offers incentives to replace closed coal facilities with wind and solar farms. Democrats also agreed to work with Manchin on a separate deal to speed up permits for energy infrastructure projects.

Ultimately, it’s a deal that seems to have satisfied both sides — where the ‘sides’ in question are Manchin and mainstream Democrats.

Still, the question was raised on Sunday — why did the deal have to be made in secret?

Manchin responds:

.@JonKarl on Schumer-Manchin deal: “Why did it have to be negotiated in secret?”

Sen. Joe Manchin: “I understand all the frustration…I did not know if we would come to an agreement, so why would I put people through all this drama?” https://t.co/tbpeYq33SD pic.twitter.com/WeJY7rZJsu

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— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 31, 2022

“I didn’t want them to go through that again. I didn’t know if we could get a deal. I did not know if we could come to an agreement. So why would I put people through all this drama? I’ve been through this for 8 months…I just couldn’t get to where they wanted to go to in my caucus. Rather than everybody down and here we go again, I didn’t want to go through that. I wanted to see if we could come to that agreement”