West Virginia rep joins in Manchin bash-fest

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) waded into a public spat between Vice President Pence and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Friday, suggesting Manchin has thin skin and “doesn’t like being held accountable” for voting no on the GOP tax-reform bill

Two days ago, Pence delivered a speech at an equipment manufacturer in West Virginia, during which he ripped Manchin for his repeated “no” votes against President Trump’s agenda. That included the $1.5 trillion GOP tax overhaul, which cleared Congress and was signed into law by Trump.

Manchin, a former West Virginia governor, fired back at Pence, lamenting that his remarks were exactly “why Washington sucks.” {mosads}

Jenkins, who attended the Pence speech and is running for the GOP nomination to challenge Manchin this fall, was quick to defend the vice president as he spoke to reporters Friday at the joint House–Senate GOP retreat.

“Thank you Vice President Pence for looking past the cameras, looking at the crowd, looking at the press, and saying very clearly, ‘Joe voted ‘no’ on the tax cut,’” Jenkins said during a news conference that was supposed to be focused on West Virginia’s opioid epidemic.

“Those hard-working West Virginians who are now putting more money in their pockets, they need to know that Joe voted ‘no.’ The vice president just simply told the facts.”

Manchin, Jenkins added, used “some pretty odd language” in describing “why Washington sucks.”

“Joe doesn’t like being held accountable for his voting record in Washington,” Jenkins went on.

“The VP is holding him accountable. The VP said it straight, he said it right, and the West Virginia people deserve to know it. So thank you Mr. Vice President.”

In the May 8 GOP primary, Jenkins will face Don Blankenship, the former chairman and CEO of Massey Energy, and Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general.

Whoever emerges from that primary will take on Manchin, who is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats on the ballot in the midterm elections this year. Trump is enormously popular in the Mountain State; he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton here by 42 percentage points in 2016.