President Biden told ABC News on Tuesday that he supports reform of the Senate’s filibuster rule to require lawmakers to talk on the Senate floor to delay the passage of a bill.
Why it matters: It’s the first time the president has publicly supported action against the rule after the White House has maintained for several weeks that he opposed the complete elimination of the filibuster.
Context: Progressives have pressured Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) to abolish the chamber’s long-standing 60-vote threshold to pass key legislation on issues such as climate change and the right to vote.
- Eliminating the filibuster would significantly limit the power of the minority party, which uses the procedural rule to delay or block any legislative action it opposes.
What they say: Asked if he would ultimately have to choose between keeping the filibuster and advancing his administration’s agenda, Biden said, “I don’t think you need to eliminate the filibuster – you should do it as it was when I first started. the Senate came from the past. “
- “You had to get up and do the talking, you had to keep talking,” Biden said, adding that he would support making that a requirement.
- That’s what it should have been. It gets to the point where, you know, democracy has a hard time functioning, ‘
The big picture: Biden advocates for the same reform as Senator Joe Manchin (DW.V.), who told “Axios on HBO” that he supports “a little pain” for senators who want to defend themselves and oppose a simple majority in the chamber.
- Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Again warned Democrats on Tuesday that eliminating the legislative filibuster would “break the Senate” and turn the room into a “pile of 100 cars” of chaos.