Manchin rips Schumer for working against dear friend Susan Collins: hes crazy

Former Democratic Sen.Joe Manchin took a swipe at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Wednesday for working to oust his “dear friend” Sen.

Susan Collins — calling him “crazy” for targeting the Maine Republican.Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in 2024 to become an independent before retiring from the Senate in 2025, joined Collins on the campaign trail in Lewiston, Maine, where he praised the five-term Republican as “the soul of the Senate.”When asked whether his appearance alongside Collins amounted to a “middle finger” to Schumer, Manchin said the Senate Democratic leader should not be surprised.“Me being with my dear friend, there is no surprise there at all,” Manchin told reporters, per Fox News.“I told him he was crazy in 2020 for working against her so hard, and he’s so crazy now to work against her.” Manchin’s appearance comes as Collins faces a tough reelection fight against Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, in one of the country’s closely watched Senate contests.Democrats are hoping to flip the seat as they fight to reclaim control of the upper chamber, with Schumer making Collins a target in both the 2020 and 2026 election cycles.But Manchin, who served in the Senate alongside Collins for years, argued that Washington needs more lawmakers willing to work across party lines.“She is the soul of America.

She is the soul of the Senate, and he knows he needs more Susan Collins, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on,” Manchin said.“This is ridiculous.” The former West Virginia senator has repeatedly backed Collins, including in 2020, when she faced a challenge from Democrat Sara Gideon after voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.The two lawmakers also worked together on bipartisan legislation, including the 2021 infrastructure law and the 2022 Electoral Count Act overhaul, which revised the process for certifying presidential election results after the Jan.

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