Manchin Says He Will Not Seek Re-election, Dealing Blow to Democrats

Progressive groups noted a long list of grievances with the West Virginia Democrat.

“Joe Manchin watered down the Democratic economic agenda, made the cost of raising children higher and billionaire taxes lower, and now doesn’t even run for re-election,” said Adam Green, a founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “History, and West Virginians who are struggling, will not judge Joe Manchin well.”

But with his power to make or break legislation, Mr. Manchin was also known for helping broker deals that resulted in some of the most significant new laws during Mr. Biden’s presidency, often by partnering with mainstream Republicans including Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

Those achievements included passage of the biggest investment in clean energy in U.S. history, the largest financing of bridges since the construction of the interstate highway system, the first bipartisan gun safety legislation in a generation, a huge microchip production and scientific research bill to bolster American competitiveness with China, a major veterans health care measure, and an overhaul of the electoral system designed to prevent another Jan. 6-style attempt to overturn a presidential election.

Mr. Manchin played a central role in shaping Mr. Biden’s efforts to fight climate change.

With personal financial ties to the coal industry, Mr. Manchin never made any secret of his distaste for policies to curtail fossil fuels: West Virginia is second in coal production and seventh in natural gas production among the states, and he was the Senate’s top recipient of campaign donations from the oil and gas industry.

As chairman of the powerful Senate Energy Committee, Mr. Manchin forced the president to sharply scale down an ambitious climate and social spending agenda. Yet, he ultimately cast the crucial vote to ensure that the more modest legislation was enacted into law.

His houseboat, named Almost Heaven, served as a bipartisan hangout for senators.

“He’s a good senator, willing to work in a bipartisan way,” Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, told reporters at the Capitol. “And we need more people that will promote bipartisanship and not follow the party line.”

Coral Davenport and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.