Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Thursday granting birthright citizenship is "worthy of looking at" — but insisted President Donald Trump cannot change the Constitution with an executive order.
During a contentious debate with Patrick Morrisey — the GOP candidate challenging the incumbent in the deep-red state — said "there's a lot can be done," The Hill reported.
"I think it's worthy of looking at it," he said of the hot-button issue that has taken center stage in the past days before the midterm elections Nov. 6.
"I think the president needs to say what he intends to do," he said, adding: "I think there's a lot can be done, and a lot can be controlled, but he cannot do it by an executive order."
Morrisey said Trump is "right to look at the birthright lottery," but added he would want to see the proposed executive order to end granting citizenship to the U.S.-born babies of illegal immigrant to ensure it is being handled the right way.
The Hill noted Manchin joins Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., in appearing open to the idea of ending birthright citizenship.
Trump won West Virginia by 42 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — becoming popular in Appalachia for making broad promises to put coal miners back to work, despite grim economic forecasts for the industry.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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