VOTING PACKAGE FACES SENATE DEFEAT
2 key Democrats still refuse to change rules on filibuster
Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights leaders say is vital for protecting democracy appeared headed for defeat as the Senate churned into debate Tuesday as two holdout Democrats refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican filibuster.
The Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, faced criticism from Black leaders and civil rights organizations for failing to take on what critics call the “Jim Crow filibuster.”
The debate carries echoes of an earlier era when the Senate filibuster was deployed in lengthy speeches by opponents of civil rights legislation. It comes as Democrats and other voting advocates nationwide warn that Republican-led states are passing laws making it more difficult for Black Americans and others to vote by consolidating polling locations, requiring certain types of identification and ordering other changes.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., acknowledged the current bill’s likely defeat this week. But he said the fight is not over as he heeds advocates’ call to force all senators to go on record with their positions.
“We ain’t giving up,“Schumer said after an evening strategy meeting. “It is a fight for the soul and the future
of America.”
This is the fifth time the Senate will try to pass voting legislation this Congress.
The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act combines earlier bills into one package that would make Election Day a national holiday, ensure access to early voting and mail-in ballots — which have become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic — and enable the Justice Department to intervene in states with a history of voter interference, among other
changes.
Both Manchin and Sinema say they support the package, which has passed the House, but they are unwilling to change the Senate rules to muscle it through that chamber over Republican objections. With a 50-50 split, Democrats have a narrow Senate majority — Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie — but they lack the 60 votes needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.
Instead, Schumer announced the Senate will vote
on a more specific rules change for a “talking filibuster” on this one bill — requiring senators to stand at their desks and argue their views, rather than the current practice that simply allows senators to privately signal their objections.
Initial voting could start as soon as today. But even the proposal for a “talking filibuster” is expected to fail, since Manchin and Sinema have said they are unwilling to change the rules on a party-line vote by Democrats
alone.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who led his party in doing away with the filibuster’s 60vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees during Donald Trump’s presidency, warned off changing the rules again. He said Tuesday it would “break the Senate.”
Democratic senators countered in speeches from the Senate floor that with Republicans objecting to the voting legislation they have no choice.
Manchin did open the door to a more tailored package of voting law changes — including to the Electoral College Act, which became a focus of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol — that he said a bipartisan group of senators are working on and could draw Republican support.
“There are so many things that we can agree on,” he said, though he held firm against voting to change the filibuster rules.
Just as Manchin and Sinema blocked President Joe Biden’s broad Build Back Better domestic spending package, the senators are now dashing hopes for another major part of Biden’s presidential agenda.
The Senate launched the dayslong debate, but the outcome is expected to be no different from past failed votes on the legislation. Biden has been unable to persuade Sinema and Manchin to join other Democrats to change the rules to lower the 60-vote threshold. Sinema reiterated her opposition to the rules changes just before Biden arrived on Capitol Hill to court senators’ votes.
Both senators have argued that preserving the filibuster rules is important for fostering bipartisanship. They warn of what would happen if Republicans win back majority control, as is distinctly possible this election year.
Leading sports figures from Manchin’s home state of West Virginia have weighed in. In a letter, Alabama football coach Nick Saban, NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West and others urged him to support the legislation.