- Maher took a dig at Joe Manchin, calling the Democrat "the most powerful Republican in the Senate."
- With a razor-thin Democratic Senate majority, Manchin's vote can make or break the legislation.
- Manchin continues to support the filibuster, arguing that senators should push for bipartisanship.
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HBO's Bill Maher took a dig at moderate Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Friday, calling him "the most powerful Republican in the Senate."
On "Real Time with Bill Maher," the comedian and commentator mentioned that President Joe Biden would have his first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II to cap off the G7 summit on Sunday while including criticism of Manchin.
"Biden is gonna go to Windsor Castle to meet with the Queen, newly widowed Queen," Maher said. "He was going to express his condolences for her losing Prince Philip, and she's going to express her condolences for Joe losing Joe Manchin."
He added: "This Joe Manchin. Boy, have you been reading about him? For a Democrat, he is the most powerful Republican in the Senate."
Manchin, who represents one of the most conservative states in the US, has emerged as a pivotal figure in the party due to the current 50-50 partisan split in the Senate between Democrats and Republicans.
With Biden in the White House and Democrats in control of the House, Manchin's vote has outsized influence over major legislation, as well as Cabinet appointments and judicial nominees.
Last week, Manchin announced his opposition to the For the People Act, the sweeping voting-rights bill, severely imperiling one of his party's most important legislative priorities.
In declaring his opposition to the bill, Manchin defied Democratic pleas for federal action on voting rights, which the party says is needed to counter the raft of restrictive voting laws championed by the GOP at the state level.
Manchin also continues to support the legislative filibuster, which creates a 60-vote threshold to proceed to a final vote with major legislation.
Last week, progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York called Manchin "the new Mitch McConnell," in a blunt comparison to the GOP Senate Minority Leader from Kentucky who is widely loathed among the Democratic base.
Maher proceeded to blast Manchin, arguing that the senator has "blocked every big thing the Democrats want to do."
While Manchin has been a wild card on some of the larger bills, he overwhelmingly supported Biden's Cabinet picks and backed the Democratic-led $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that was signed into law in March.
The senator has also been open to a range of different proposals regarding Biden's proposed infrastructure bill but has not indicated what would prompt him to support another bill that doesn't receive some sort of GOP support.
