news reporter asked Manchin about his opposition to H.R.5376 - Build Back Better Act, accusing him of having a conflict of interest with provisions within the bill: "Sir, the company you founded, Enersystems, provides coal to power plants that would be impacted by one of the proposals in the plan. How is that not a conflict of interest?" Manchin replied, "I've been in a blind trust for 20 years. I have no idea what they're doing." Political positions Manchin is often considered a moderate, or even conservative, Democrat. He has called himself a "centrist, moderate conservative Democrat" and "fiscally responsible and socially compassionate." CBS News has called him "a rifle-brandishing moderate" who is "about as centrist as a senator can get." The American Conservative Union gave him a 25% lifetime conservative rating and the progressive PAC Americans for Democratic Action gave him a 35% liberal quotient in 2016. In February 2018, a Congressional Quarterly study found that Manchin had voted with Trump's position 71% of the time in Trump's first year in office, but by the end of Trump's presidency, Manchin had voted with the president only 50.4% of the time. Manchin voted with Biden 88.9% of the time as of September 2022. In 2013, the National Journal gave Manchin an overall score of 55% conservative and 46% liberal. Abortion Manchin identifies as "pro-life". He has mixed ratings from both the abortion-rights and anti-abortion movements' political action groups. In 2018, Planned Parenthood, which supports access to abortion, gave Manchin a lifetime grade of 57%. National Right to Life (NRLC), which opposes abortion, gave Manchin a 100% score in 2019 and NARAL Pro-Choice America gave him a 72% in 2017. On August 3, 2015, he broke with Democratic leadership by voting in favor of a Republican-sponsored bill to terminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood both in the United States and globally. He has the endorsement of Democrats for Life of America, a Democratic PAC that opposes abortion. On March 30, 2017, Manchin voted against H.J.Res. 43, which allowed states to refuse to give Title X grant money to organizations for reasons unrelated to their ability to provide the services needed. Trump signed the bill. In April 2017, Manchin endorsed the continued funding of Planned Parenthood. Also in 2017, Planned Parenthood gave him a rating of 44%. In January 2018, Manchin joined two other Democrats and most Republicans by voting for a