Manchin to oppose Biden IRS nominee

Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin will oppose President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the IRS, he confirmed on Wednesday.

Manchin cited his frustrations with the White House's implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act as motivating his opposition to Daniel Werfel, The Hill reported.

The act, for which Manchin voted, allocated funds to hire tens of thousands of new IRS agents. The moderate lawmaker clarified that he did not lack faith in Werfel himself, but questioned whether the White House would leave him to his own devices.

"While Daniel Werfel is supremely qualified to serve as the IRS Commissioner, I have zero faith he will be given the autonomy to perform the job in accordance with the law and for that reason, I cannot support his nomination," Manchin stated.

Manchin is "fuming mad," according to the outlet, over the Biden administration's decision to delay releasing guidelines for who will receive electric vehicle tax credits. 

"At every turn, this administration has ignored congressional intent when implementing the Inflation Reduction Act," he said in statement.

Manchin's opposition leaves the fate of Werfel's nomination unclear, as at least three Democrats are expected to miss the full chamber vote due to health concerns, the outlet noted. Six Republicans, however, voted to advance the nomination, an action that does not necessarily indicate intent to support the nominee's confirmation.

The news of Manchin's opposition and the unclear fate of Werfel's nomination, comes one day after Gigi Sohn, whom Biden tapped to join the Federal Communications Commission, withdrew her candidacy in the face of steep opposition.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.