Reuters
By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Joe Manchin on Sunday said lawmakers were unlikely to pass their massive budget package by Democrats’ Sept. 27 deadline, adding that he could support a smaller $1.5 trillion bill. Manchin, a West Virginia moderate who has urged a “pause” on fellow Democrat U.S. President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion domestic spending plan, said while he supported some provisions such as universal preschool, he did not back clean energy and other measures. The plan would also have to include a “competitive tax code” to help pay for it, he told CNN, adding he could…