Senator Manchin also wary of changing Senate rules.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is calling for a change to the rules of the Senate regarding the filibuster in order to pass election reforms. The legislation has stalled in the evenly-divided Senate, lacking the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has called plans to scrap the procedural rule a radical move that threatens to “break the Senate.” He said, “Based on what the majority leader said, he’s going to try to break the Senate. Break the legislative filibuster to make some kind of narrow exception. There is no such thing as a narrow exception. This, in my view, is genuine radicalism.”
In 2005, Senator Schumer called “changing the rules in midstream” a washing away of 200 years of history, making America a “banana republic,” and calling it a “doomsday for democracy” if the change were made.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia could be the deciding Senate vote on a rule change. He expressed his skepticism, saying, “I think that for us to go it alone, no matter what side does, it ends up coming back at you pretty hard.”
As a long-time former senator, President Biden has generally stood for existing rules but is under enormous political pressure to break the logjam in order to achieve passage of the voting legislation.
Senator Schumer has promised a vote on rule changes by January 17, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of the Senate as they consider doing away with the filibuster in order to potentially pass the federalizing of elections laws.
- For wisdom for legislators as they face the sharp partisan divides that exist in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Sources: CBN, YouTube, Washington Post, The Hill
