Climate activists in the D.C. area accosted Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, on Thursday as Congress weighs whether to pass President Joe Biden's proposed spending packages.
According to Insider and The New York Post, protesters with the Sunrise Movement approached Manchin as he left his houseboat on the Potomac River and made his way to his car.
A video posted by the Sunrise Movement showed protesters chanting "we want to live" and "fight for us."
Other videos originally posted on TikTok showed protesters blocking Manchin's car, a Maserati, as he attempted to leave a parking garage.
BREAKING: We’re here at sunrise at @SenJoe_Manchin’s dock, home to his $5M houseboat, bought by fossil fuel money, to call out his greed and corruption that’s torching our future. pic.twitter.com/g9oYAZ75Ii
— Hunger Strike 4 Climate Justice (@HungerStr1ke) November 4, 2021
The Sunrise Movement, which on its website calls itself the "climate revolution," is a group that supports progressive policies like "The Green New Deal."
In recent months, Manchin and fellow moderate Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have been the target of protests as the party pushes to pass laws to support Biden's domestic agenda.
Manchin and Sinema have balked at the high price of Biden's spending bills, which at one point totaled more than $3.5 trillion. Because the bill will likely need the support of all 50 Democratic senators in order to pass, lawmakers have agreed to shave several trillion dollars off the final price tag.
Manchin, who has deep ties to West Virginia's coal industry, also pushed for lawmakers to remove provisions from a social spending bill that would have incentivized power companies to move away from coal and natural gas in favor of renewable energy.
