Joe Manchin made it plain that his party's attempt to isolate him and fellow moderate Kyrsten Sinema will not drive him to change the rules, once again rejecting Democrats' planned filibuster improvements in the Senate.
The West Virginia Democrat seemed to like his seclusion. Before a Democratic Caucus meeting, he told reporters that he would not support introducing a talking filibuster, which could be used to circumvent the Senate's 60-vote barrier or a simple majority rule change.
Schumer insists Senate will vote on voting rights bill
Despite the fact that all 50 Senate Democrats currently support the voting and elections measure before the Senate, the Democratic caucus is blaming Manchin and Sinema (D-Ariz.) for the party's inability to pass comprehensive elections reform to their opposition to reducing the filibuster. Given that Sinema and Manchin will be critical to any additional success the party can manage this year - notably on any resurrection of President Joe Biden's economic plan - the decision bears significant risk, according to Politico.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) began the last drive on Tuesday to persuade Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to embrace a rule change that would make a major election reform package easier to pass.
Despite the fact that his attempt is certain to fail, Schumer argued on the Senate floor that senators be obliged to speak publicly on the matter. While both Manchin and Sinema support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which were combined into one massive piece of legislation by the House last week, they believe the filibuster is a critical component of the Senate and that amending it would exacerbate America's political divide, as per New York Post.
Schumer risks exposing moderate Democrats on filibuster
Congressional leaders prefer not to go to the floor until they are confident that they will be able to approve a bill. However, a swelling chorus of activists calling for action has created a climate in which senior Democrats appear to believe they must act or risk losing their base in the midterm elections. Even Schumer looks to be losing patience with members of his own party who are resisting the filibuster.
After a year of progressives dominating the party agenda and increasing pressure on party leaders to abandon Senate tradition, the doomed-to-fail vote is no longer something Senate Democrats can avoid. Over the course of a year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives used news conferences, media appearances, and public declarations to increase the pressure on Schumer to do something about the filibuster.
Last summer, following a series of dismal judgments for Democrats, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, spearheaded demands to abolish the filibuster in order to load the Supreme Court. The Congressional Progressive Caucus tweeted on Oct. 8 that "the Senate should abolish the filibuster and pass the Women's Health Protection Act," in response to Texas' new abortion law. Now, with Democrats' election bills back in the news this month, the filibuster is once again in progressives' sights, Fox News reported.
Related Article: Joe Biden Urges Senate Democrats' Unification To Pass Voting Rights Bill; Mitch McConnell Rips the President's Speech
