'Hell or high water:' Manchin tells Biden he won't back push to skirt Senate rules on relief bill

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has privately informed President Joe Biden that he won't join any Democratic efforts to force through provisions in his economic rescue package if they are ruled in violation of strict Senate budget restrictions, the latest warning sign for Biden's push for a hike to the federal minimum wage.

Manchin's declaration is significant because it means that Democrats won't be able to maneuver around an adverse ruling from the Senate's parliamentarian without risking their chances of passing Biden's massive $1.9 trillion rescue package in a Senate split 50-50 between the two parties. At issue is the Senate's long-standing Byrd Rule, which prohibits including "extraneous" measures as part of the budget process that Democrats are employing to send the Covid-19 relief package to Biden's desk by early March. Democrats' push to include an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour could run afoul of the Byrd Rule, though Senate supporters like Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders of Vermont are battling to keep it in the legislation.