The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Biden, chiding justices, favors ending filibuster
Abortion rights could then be codified
MADRID » President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned what he called the “outrageous behavior” of the Supreme Court in overturning Roe v. Wade and said for the first time that he supported ending the filibuster to protect a woman’s right to an abortion and a broader constitutional right to privacy.
It was a striking assertion from a president who is steeped in the traditions of the Senate and has resisted calls from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party to scrap the longstanding Senate practice of requiring a 60-vote threshold to pass legislation. But in chiding the justices for a decision he called “destabilizing” for the country, the president said it was time to push Congress to act.
“We have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that,” Biden said. “And if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights; we provide an exception for this, or an exception to the filibuster for this action.”
It was only the second time Biden has urged Congress to scrap its rules on the filibuster. In January, he called on lawmakers to make an exception to pass legislation to add voting rights protections.
Speaking at a news conference in Madrid at the end of a weeklong series of meetings with allies in Europe, Biden lamented the impact of the court’s decision on a woman’s right to have an abortion, calling Roe a “critical, critical piece.” But he also sought to broaden his critique of the ruling, saying it threatened decades of court precedent guaranteeing other fundamental tenets of American life based on the idea of a right to privacy in the Constitution.
With his comments, Biden forcefully joined the chorus of voices warning that the legality of samesex marriage and the availability of legal contraception could be at risk if the court — now dominated by conservative justices — decide to expand their rulings to other areas of the law, as Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion in the case.
“I really think that it’s a serious, serious problem that the court has thrust upon the United States, not just in terms of a right to choose, but in terms of right to who you can marry — a whole range of issues relating to privacy,” Biden said.
The ruling has roiled the country and exacerbated partisan divisions, prompting intense anger among Democrats and other abortion rights supporters while gratifying the Christian right and conservatives who oppose abortion. The decision is poised to reshape U.S. politics just months before voters go to the polls to determine which party controls Congress.
The White House is hoping that embracing a change to the filibuster will resonate with Biden’s political base, including women, who will be crucial to Democrats maintaining control of Congress in elections this fall.
But the president and his allies in the Senate have so far failed to rally enough support to make such exceptions to the filibuster. Among those who have expressed staunch opposition are two moderate Democratic senators: Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Both senators condemned the court’s ruling when it was handed down last week and said they would support legislation to put Roe v. Wade’s protections into law. But Sinema has balked at undoing the filibuster threshold to accomplish that. Asked for comment on Biden’s remarks Thursday, her office referred to a 2021 opinion article in which Sinema argued against lifting the filibuster to expand health care or retirement benefits.
Sinema has also pointedly noted that the filibuster had repeatedly stopped Republicans from advancing legislation that would have undercut abortion rights when the party controlled the Senate.
Manchin has said in the past that he does not support making an exception to the filibuster for Roe but hopes that Republicans would vote with Democrats to codify its protections into law. A spokesperson for Manchin said Thursday that his position had not changed.
Republican support is unlikely to materialize. Sen. Mitch Mcconnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, on Thursday lashed out at the president for his comments.
“Attacking a core American institution like the Supreme Court from the world stage is below the dignity of the president,” Mcconnell said in a statement. “He’s upset that the court said the people, through their elected representatives, will have a say on abortion policy. That does not destabilize democracy; it affirms it.”