Before taking the helm of E&E Daily, Manuel served as the publication's deputy editor, coordinating congressional and political coverage. Manuel covered coal and mining issues after joining E&E News in 2011. He also followed campaigns and the debate surrounding the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Prior to E&E, Manuel covered Congress for several public radio stations around the country as part of the Capitol News Connection bureau. He started his journalism career in television news, covering the Missouri General Assembly for KMIZ-TV and the Virginia General Assembly for WSET-TV. He graduated from American University with a degree in journalism and a minor in international relations. He has a master's degree in political science from the University of Missouri.