Manchin ‘Absolutely’ Opposes Further Blanket Direct Payment Checks Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a moderate Democrat, on Friday said he opposed providing $2,000 stimulus checks, putting him at odds with President-elect Joe Biden. “Absolutely not. No,” Manchin told The Washington Post in an interview published Friday. “Getting people vaccinated, that’s job number one.” “How is the money that we invest now going to help us best to get jobs back and get people employed? And I can’t tell you that sending another check out is going to do that to a person that’s already got a check,” he said.