Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, heads to the chamber as senators arrive for the final votes of the week, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 4, 2023. President Biden has called for a meeting of congressional leaders at the White House next week to attempt to resolve the crisis the over the debt ceiling. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON — For Sen. Joe Manchin, America’s path forward seems rather simple: Create a middle, and everything else will fall into place.

The West Virginia Democrat, who is being discussed by some Washington insiders as a potential candidate on a No Labels Party “Unity” ticket, where a Democrat and Republican share the national ticket for president and vice president, sees an America that is being forced apart right now.

His goal, both now and moving forward, is to work to bring the nation back together.

“I want to make people understand that the middle is still where the elections are going to be won or lost. But no one’s putting any credence in that because they think well, we’ll go this way. This is where the winner is going to be,” Manchin said. “My whole movement is basically how do you save the nation? We’ve got to save this nation. And it can’t be about one party doing it by themselves. We all have to make this work.”

When it comes to a possible third-party run, whether Manchin’s involved or not (he continues to only say, when asked, that he will announce his intentions at the end of this year), he said such a unity ticket would face an uphill battle.

“It’s still to be seen if there’s an avenue or vehicle for that, but there’s definitely an appetite for the movement” back toward the center, he said. “People want stability, they want responsibility, and reasonability. … Look where we’re at right now. We’re headed to the brink of a default. That’s ridiculous to think that we would not pay our bills. But it’s also not unreasonable to think that we shouldn’t be able to figure out how we got so much debt in such a short period of time.”

When it comes to the national debt and how Washington continues to spend, Manchin said “families don’t operate that way. Businesses don’t operate that way. But I guess if you have your own printing press, you take care of what you might need.”

Aside from a possible presidential run, Manchin also is up for re-election next year. He said he’s not focusing on that right now — two current Republican officeholders already have announced for the Senate, Rep. Alex Mooney and Gov. Jim Justice — but instead on how he can best serve the nation.

“I have an awful lot to do in the coming months,” Manchin said. “Energy security, financial security for our country. How are we going to have geopolitical stability with our allies? Most importantly, how do we have a border crisis … when we have no border? We can’t cure a border crisis if we don’t secure the borders, and simultaneously allow what we call worker visas, so that people who want to come, come for the right reasons.

“We can do a lot right now, but once you declare for any office, you really can’t even talk about any of these issues. Because once you declare that you’re running then you’re the mortal enemy of the other side, even though they’re your friends.”

He also said the current Congressional work schedule leaves much to be desired. He said Congress should work at least three weeks out of four each month, with the week out of Washington spent on constituent services in your home state. That would lead to better relationships among members from both parties and more work done for the country.

“That would be the most functional and efficient way of doing it. But no, we come here on Monday. There are people on planes (every Monday morning) coming from all over the country to get here. They’ll get here for the 5:30 p.m. Monday vote. Then we’ll work Tuesday and Wednesday. We know they’ll be 14-16 hour days. And by Thursday at 1:45 p.m., the last vote’s being taken and everyone’s heading to the airport. … This is every week.

“With that schedule, how do we in Washington come back together? Senate and House members used to get along well because they had dinners on weekends, their kids all went to school together. That’s gone. Now, you have members of Congress living in their office. … Unless the public pushes it, I don’t think it’ll be changed from within. Politics has become big business in Washington.”

Closer to home, Manchin said some of the initiatives he is championing now in Congress include permitting reform and growing the state’s economy. He said West Virginia needs to be prepared for growth.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is bringing more opportunities to West Virginia,” Manchin said, noting Form Energy in Weirton as one of several businesses that have located here recently utilizing provisions of the IRA. “We have to have a trained workforce. We have to have an open mind to change our business climate. … There’s just so much opportunity right now for the state, but there’s one thing I want West Virginians to know: these new opportunities are not going to replace our fossil fuels market.”

He supports completing the final leg of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has been bogged down in legal and regulatory challenges for years. Manchin said permitting reform legislation soon will be before Congress. And once that happens, he will have fulfilled his promise when he voted for the Inflation Reduction Act to also revamp the nation’s heavily regulated permitting process for interstate natural gas projects.

Manchin said Russia has “weaponized” energy in its war against Ukraine, and the current gridlock with America’s energy projects left the nation unable to help. He’s not going to let that happen again.

“We left our allies in the European Union pretty defenseless. We couldn’t get enough energy to them. We’re the world’s superpower, we’re supposed to take care of our allies, and we couldn’t do it. That’s unacceptable,” he said. “That’s when I started writing the (permitting reform) bill. We need an energy policy that works for America, works for our allies around the world that thirst for the democracy and freedoms that we have.

“We can produce oil, gas and coal cleaner than anywhere else in the world. My bill calls for a 10-year commitment to incentivize new technologies such as hydrogen, small modular nuclear reactors, geothermal. Also, getting the Mountain Valley Pipeline done would put 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas and natural gas liquids into the market. That will help with pricing when it comes to heating our homes, and it will help our allies.”

The senator also said he continues to hear inflation concerns from his constituents. “Gas prices are still very, very hard for them. Food prices are still very, very struggling to everyone. It’s just like inflation is eating up all the (wage) increases they got. It’s taking a toll. And I think people are worried. … That’s why those of us in Washington need to work together, to provide certainty, and do the things that will help make life easier. That’s my goal.”