Manchin served as a Democratic/Independent Senator from 2010-2025
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Today, on CNBC, former Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia endorsed Senator Collins, his long-time friend and legislative partner, calling her the “soul of the Senate.”
“You lose the Susan Collins’s of the Senate, you’re losing the soul of the Senate—basically, a person you can talk to, who wants to do the right thing all of the time. Now, everybody says, oh, she doesn’t do this, doesn’t speak up. Susan is always in there, always in the trenches,” said Senator Joe Manchin.
“Joe is a dear friend and trusted colleague with whom I have always worked closely to solve problems and deliver results for the people of Maine and America,” said Senator Collins. “From helping end government shutdowns and negotiating the Electoral Count Act to delivering COVID relief and historic investments in our nation’s infrastructure, we have shown what is possible when Republicans and Democrats work together to find common ground and get things done. I am honored to have his support.”
Senators Susan Collins and Joe Manchin have a longstanding, bipartisan partnership that has helped produce some of the Senate’s most significant accomplishments of the past decade.
Together, they led the effort to reform and modernize the Electoral Count Act, negotiating broad bipartisan support for legislation that established clear rules for counting electoral votes and presidential transitions. Their legislation ultimately passed the Senate with 68 votes and was signed into law. They also worked together to prevent and end government shutdowns through the bipartisan Common Sense Coalition, which ended the 2013 and 2018 shutdowns. They co-led the bipartisan 908 Coalition, which helped develop the framework for the 2020 COVID-19 relief package, and worked together as part of the bipartisan group that negotiated the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which delivered the largest federal investment in our nation’s roads, bridges, broadband, water infrastructure, and public transportation in more than 50 years.