Manchin digs in against filibuster reform as Biden holds anniversary press conference –

At his press conference to mark one year in office, Joe Biden outlined some of the changes he plans to make for his second year.

The president said he would leave the White House more to communicate his message to the American people, which has been difficult because of coronavirus-related restrictions.

He also said he would consult more with outside experts and be “deeply involved” in the midterm elections, as Democrats seek to defend their narrow majorities in the House and Senate.

Over at Joe Biden’s press conference, a reporter asked the president whether he is pleased with the performance of Kamala Harris, who is leading the administration’s work on voting rights.

The reporter also asked Biden whether he still expects Harris to be his running mate if he seeks reelection in 2024, as he has said he plans to do.

“Yes and yes,” Biden replied. “She’s going to be my running mate, number one. And number two, I did put her in charge, and I think she’s doing a good job.”

So far, Democrats have failed to pass a voting rights bill, as Senate Republicans have repeatedly used the filibuster to block their proposals.

A reporter asked Joe Biden about Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell’s comment today that the midterm elections will be a referendum on Democrats’ performance since taking control of the White House and Congress.

“I actually like Mitch McConnell. We like one another. But he has one straightforward objective: make sure that there’s nothing I do that makes me look good, in his mind, with the public at large,” Biden said.

“And that’s okay. I’m a big boy. I’ve been here before.”

Joe Biden confirmed the Build Back Better Act will likely have to be separated into multiple bills in order to get some of its components passed.

“It’s clear to me that we’re going to have to probably break it up,” the president said.

Biden noted that Joe Manchin, who announced his opposition to the spending package last month, supports some of the bill’s key provisions, such as establishing universal access to free prekindergarten.

“I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now and come back and fight for the rest later,” Biden said.

Joe Biden was asked whether he believes the threatened sanctions against Russia will be enough to prevent Vladimir Putin from approving an invasion of Ukraine, when such economic measures have not proven effective with the Russian president in the past.

“He’s never seen sanctions like the ones I’ve promised will be imposed if he moves,” the president replied.

Biden noted he has had “frank discussions” with Putin in recent weeks, as fears have intensified over a potential invasion of Ukraine.

The US president said that, if Putin moves forward with a full-scale invasion, it will be a “disaster” for the Russian economy.

“Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden said.

A reporter asked Joe Biden whether he needed to be more realistic in his legislative goals and and scale down his priorities in order to get something passed.

The president said he did not believe he needed to scale down his goals, arguing his agenda is largely popular with the American people.

“We just have to make the case of what we’re for and what the other team’s not for,” Biden said, underscoring the need for Democrats to contrast their priorities with those of Republicans.

However, in response to a follow-up question, Biden seemed to acknowledge that the Build Back Better Act may need to be broken up into several pieces to get passed.

“I’m confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the Build Back Better law…