NBC: Manchin Concedes That Background Checks ‘Will Not Get The Votes’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is followed by reporters as he walks from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, after a meeting on gun control.
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Amid growing Republican opposition to a bipartisan proposal that would expand background checks for gun purchases, one of the measure’s chief sponsors acknowledged Wednesday that it will fail in the Senate — at least for now. 

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) conceded to NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell that the proposal “will not get the votes today.” O’Donnell relayed the remarks on Twitter.

Following O’Donnell’s tweet, a spokesman for Manchin issued a statement expressing optimism about the measure’s prospects. “So far Senator Manchin has managed to garner support from an A-rated NRA member and three Republican Senators as well as 90 percent of his own party,” the spokesman said in the statement. “With a record like that, I see no reason to bet against Senator Manchin today.”

 

This post has been updated.

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