WATCH: Joe Biden Ratchets Up Pressure to Reform Filibuster For Voting Rights Laws
President Joe Biden made revealing remarks on the legislative filibuster, widely seen as the main obstacle to passing voting rights legislation and other Democratic priorities into law.
During a brief press gaggle after his arrival in Delaware, President Biden was asked about the voting restrictions that are being passed in Georgia, which have given added urgency to the discussion about reforming the 60 vote threshold in the U.S. Senate.
The president made it clear that what’s standing in the way is not his support for reforming the rules of the Senate, but the votes of Democrats who hold the slim majority:
President Biden, you issued strong words about the Georgia voting bill —
THE PRESIDENT: Not — not as strong as I was really thinking.
Q Is there anything the White House can do to protect voting rights in Georgia?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re working on that right now. We don’t know quite exactly what we can do at this point. The Justice Department is taking a look as well.
Q Mr. President, how does the voting issue affect your thinking on the filibuster?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, we’ll see. The question is whether or not — you know, you have to have 50 votes — 51 votes to have to win to be able to move the filibuster and any change in the filibuster. And right now, that doesn’t exist. That doesn’t exist.
So, you know, look, I — the only thing I’ve been relatively good at in my long career in the Senate is figuring out when to move and when not to move. We got to have the votes.
Biden has long said that while his “preference” is to work with Republicans, he is open to ending the 60-vote threshold if the opposition simply won’t budge. Biden’s remarks appear to put the onus on senators who are reluctant to enact such a rule change, a particularly acute pressure in the context of voting rights.
Sen. Joe Manchin has edged in the direction of reforming, not eliminating, the filibuster, while Sen. Kyrsten Sinema remains a holdout.
Watch above via C-Span.
