A couple of weeks after nuking the Democratic Build Back Better Agenda reside on Fox News, Sen. Joe Manchin would love you to know the local weather half is a bit of cake.

The West Virginia senator spoke with reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the place he was predictably barraged by questions on what the hell is happening with the Build Back Better Act, the centerpiece of what might be a transformative Democratic agenda. The laws handed the House earlier than getting slowed down within the Senate, the place Democrats maintain a razor-thin majority, as Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema slowly hacked away at it. (Republicans, for his or her half, have simply stood by with zero intent to interact.)

Manchin stated negotiations haven’t restarted on the act itself. But he did throw within the following tidbit, according to Politico: “I think that the climate thing is one that we probably can come to agreement much easier than anything else.”

This is decidedly curious for just a few causes, chief amongst them being how Manchin has handled the local weather provisions within the act. Among the provisions Manchin has reportedly opposed at one level or one other are a clear vitality customary (the act’s strongest local weather provision), tax credit for union-made electrical autos, and a price on methane. Manchin’s obstruction—which, it must be famous, traces up extraordinarily nicely with soiled oil firms’ and utilities’ priorities—already left the U.S. compromised at worldwide local weather talks in November.

If local weather was a simple repair, then doing a deal on it earlier than probably the most consequential local weather negotiation but would’ve been an excellent time. Going on Fox News to announce your opposition after which placing out a wildly bad faith statement intimating that transitioning to scrub vitality would trigger blackouts can also be not precisely confidence-instilling! Manchin’s lengthy historical past additionally features a campaign ad actually capturing a 2009 cap-and-commerce invoice, the final piece of main local weather laws to get a vote within the House and die within the Senate.

Still, shortly after Manchin threw the Build Back Better Act below the bus, the United Mine Workers of America put out an announcement asking the coal state senator to rethink his life decisions. It wasn’t the kid tax credit or different items of the laws that the union led with in its assertion both; as a substitute, the local weather provisions within the act have been entrance and middle of why it needed Manchin to return to the negotiating desk.

There might very nicely be some frequent floor for Manchin and his fellow Democratic senators to hammer out a deal on local weather, significantly round a simply transition. It’s additionally solely potential this can be a bait and change on Manchin’s half, shopping for extra time to expire the clock. Doing a climate-only invoice, one thing Manchin additionally reportedly suggested, would include its personal collection of issues as nicely.

Would Democrats use their one reconciliation shot on an much more watered-down local weather invoice, giving up on the suite of different social security internet packages? Would they do it outdoors reconciliation and in some way discover 10 Republicans prepared to assist local weather laws? Would the House even go alongside? Would no matter settlement convey the U.S. any nearer to assembly its local weather aim of decreasing carbon emissions not less than 50% by 2030, one thing that was already a protracted shot after Manchin’s preliminary winnowing course of? Would you lick this display? (Sorry, the final one was a check.)

All of which is to say, it’s good that Joe Manchin is open to “the climate thing.” But we’re gonna want just a few extra particulars earlier than getting too excited.