Sen. Joe Manchin is seemingly more and more on the fence about calling himself a Democrat.
The moderate West Virginia senator said Tuesday he gets asked about his party affiliation 'every day,' and joked his life would be 'much easier' if he switched.
'Is that the purpose of being involved in public service?' he asked the Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein at a Tuesday breakfast for the Economic Club.
'You think that having a 'D' or an 'I' or an 'R' is going to change who I am?'
'I don't think the R's would be any more happier with me than the D's right now,' Manchin continued. 'I don't know where in the hell I belong.'
Still, when Rubenstein asked Manchin if he has any plans to switch his party, the senator replied 'no.'
On Monday night, Manchin said that he was 'totally out of sync' with the rest of the senators in his party.
'I’m totally out of sync with 48 other Democrats,' he said at a dinner with reporters.
'I love them all. And I love all the Republicans. So I’m just trying to survive in a very, very, very divided Congress in a very divided country.'
Manchin's comments follow a Mother Jones report that the senator has told associates he has a plan to leave his party if his liberal colleagues cannot find a way to cut down the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan to $1.75 trillion.
The moderate West Virginia senator said Tuesday he gets asked about his party affiliation 'every day,' and joked his life would be 'much easier' if he switched
If Manchin follows through with the plan, he would switch from Democrat to Independent. But he originally called that report 'bulls***.'
'I have no control over rumors,' he said at the time.
Asked if he was staying in the Democratic Party and caucus, he said: 'I am where I am.'
But one day later, Manchin admitted he had offered to switch his party affiliation if it would be less of an embarrassment to Democrats, as many are frustrated that they cannot push their priorities through even with a majority in the Senate and House.
'You think that having a 'D' or an 'I' or an 'R' is going to change who I am?' Manchin said
Manchin told reporters on Thursday he would consider becoming an Independent 'if I'm an embarrassment to my Democrat colleagues, my caucus, the president being the leader of the Democratic Party.'
Manchin is up for reelection in
