Joe Manchin Tanks Solar and EV Stocks With His Build Back Better Bombshell

Manchin’s sudden bomb also reportedly came as a shock to the White House, which released a statement just hours later describing the senator’s move as a “sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position.”

“Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki wrote. “Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework “in good faith.”

There are still avenues for a narrower Build Back Better Act, though if the Senate passed some version that Manchin approved of, the House would have to redo its vote. If it had passed, the legislation would have represented the first major climate change initiative for the U.S., with $320 billion in expanded tax credits for renewable energies and electric vehicles and another $105 billion set aside for boosting climate change resilience. Another $110 billion would have been used to improve U.S. renewable energy tech supply chains.

The version of Build Back Better that Manchin couldn’t bring himself to support was, in reality, a shell of its former self. Over the past year, Manchin singlehandedly managed to derail the most surefire avenue to reduce emissions—known as a Clean Electricity Standard—and gut key methane reduction provisions. Manchin even voiced his opposition to a $12,500 EV tax credit that would incentivize drivers to purchase union-made electric vehicles. Whether a slightly less climate-friendly version of the Build Back Better Act passes remains to be seen, but it’s clear the fallout from Sunday’s announcement is reverberating.