By Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Governor Jim Justice applauded U.S. Senator Joe Manchin Thursday for his defense of the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, while describing his relationship with the veteran West Virginia Democrat as “great.”
The relationship between Manchin and Justice, a Republican, has been strained in recent years following a very public spat between the two.
“The relationship between myself and Senator Manchin is good,” Justice said Thursday in response to media questions during a virtual pandemic briefing. “I will tell you I hope Joe will continue to hold the line on what is reasonable. We all know that Washington has tilted so far to the left that it is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know if at some point in time if we are going to be strong enough in this country to be able to stand it.”
Justice made headlines in 2019 after a series of public disagreements with Manchin. At the time, there was some speculation that Manchin would seek another term as governor of West Virginia and run against Justice, but Manchin ultimately opted to remain in the U.S. Senate. Justice has used his pandemic briefings in the past to criticize Manchin. In a pandemic briefing this past March, Justice said he did not start the squabble with Manchin. Rather, Justice argued that it was Manchin who was the one who criticized him first for his handling of the state’s share of the federal CARES Act money…