President Joe Biden says he would support making a change to the filibuster rules so Senate Democrats could pass a voting rights bill.
During an interview with ABC News, Biden said he would support a change to the filibuster to let Democrats bypass the 60 vote threshold in the Senate.
“That means whatever it takes. Change the Senate rules to accommodate major pieces of legislation without requiring 60 votes,” he said.
When asked specifically if he would support a filibuster carve-out for a voting rights bill, Biden said, “The only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making an exception on voting rights of the filibuster.”
Biden made similar comments earlier this year when he signaled he was open to “fundamentally altering” the filibuster.
The filibuster is a procedural hurdle used to delay or block legislation that requires 60 votes to overcome.
His comments come after Senate Democrats’ hopes of passing the roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better Act were stymied by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announcing his opposition to the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate will take up a voting rights bill in January, and signaled he would attempt to change the filibuster rules if Republicans tried to block the legislation.
“The Senate will consider voting rights legislation, as early as the first week back,” he said in a letter to his colleagues. “If Senate Republicans continue to abuse the filibuster and prevent the body from considering this bill, the Senate will then consider changes to any rules which prevent us from debating and reaching final conclusion on important legislation.”
However, changing the filibuster rules may prove difficult as Schumer would need all 50 Democrats to vote for the change. Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have both signaled opposition to changing the 60 vote threshold.
