Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said on Thursday that he would not run for re-election in 2024, signalling the potential for political upheaval in the narrowly divided Senate.
“After months of deliberation and long conversation with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I've accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” he said in a video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I've made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate.”
Mr Manchin has served as senator for West Virginia since 2010 over the course of two terms. Prior to entering the chamber, he was the state's governor for five years and served as secretary of state before that.
"For more than 40 years - as a state legislator, a secretary of state, a governor and a senator - Joe Manchin has dedicated himself to serving the people of his beloved West Virginia," President Joe Biden said in a statement.
"During my time as vice president and now as President, Joe and I have worked together to get things done for hardworking families."
Mr Manchin's departure could lead to a major political shift in the Senate.
The chamber is currently controlled by the Democrats, who holds 48 seats; another three seats are held by independent politicians who tend to vote with the Democrats. The Republicans hold 49 seats.
Despite helping to give Democrats control of the Senate, Mr Manchin has long posed a challenge for the party. He has held a moderate and sometimes conservative stances on many hot-button issues, forcing Democrats to make concessions to pass legislation.
In West Virginia, Republicans control the governor's office and other congressional seats, and Donald Trump won 69 per cent of the vote over Democrat Mr Biden in the 2020 election.
“We like our odds in West Virginia,” Steve Daines, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement following Mr Manchin's announcement.
Mr Manchin was not clear about what might come next for him.
“What I will be doing is travelling the country and speaking out to see if there's an interest in creating a movement to mobilise the middle,” he said in his video.
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
