President Joe Biden on Thursday will make a personal plea to U.S. Senate Democrats to unite to change the chamber's rules to pass voting-rights reform, a day after the Senate's top Republican launched a blistering attack on the initiative.
Passions are high in Washington as former President Donald Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud inspire a wave of new restrictions on voting in Republican-controlled states.
Under the plan, outlined in a Schumer memo to fellow Democrats that was seen by Reuters, the House of Representatives will soon repackage two elections-related bills into one and pass it. It would then go to the Senate under a special procedure preventing Republicans from blocking debate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday reiterated that Republicans stand firmly against the voting-rights legislation and changes to the filibuster. He blasted a Biden speech calling for action as a "rant" that "was incoherent, incorrect and beneath his office."U.S. President Joe Biden tours a neighborhood in Louisville, Colorado, U.S., January 7, 2022.
Manchin and fellow centrist Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema object to scrapping the filibuster, warning that doing so could lead to whipsaw policy changes every time the balance of power shifts in Congress. In 2013, Democrats, fed up with then-President Barack Obama's nominees languishing amid Republican filibusters, scrapped the 60-vote majority needed to confirm most federal judges and administration appointees. Four years later, Republicans ended the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, clearing the way for Trump to install three conservative justices during his presidency.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden to Back Changing Senate Rule to Stop GOP ‘Obstruction’The move is expected to tee up a battle with Republican lawmakers as Democrats aim to pass voting-rights legislation.
Read more »
Biden to back Senate rule change to pass voting rights billLaws have already passed in at least 19 states that make it more difficult to vote. Voting rights groups view the changes as a subtler form of the ballot restrictions like literacy tests and poll taxes once used to disenfranchise Black voters, now a key Democratic constituency.
Read more »
Biden targets Republicans, supports Senate rule change for voting rights lawBiden will travel to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace of Atlanta to jump-start stalled efforts to reform US voting rights, after some states passed new laws that activists say will deter Black voters from going to the polls.
Read more »
Biden calls on Senate to change filibuster rules.mehdirhasan: 'Why did it take so long to say this? Why waste all of 2021 not saying this only to start 2022 in this way? Some of us were calling for changes to the filibuster, for a carve out, at least for voting rights, a year ago.'
Read more »
Biden to address Senate Dems on cusp of election reform showdownPresident Joe Biden will attend a special caucus meeting Thursday with Senate Democrats, as the party makes a concerted effort to pass elections reform and voting legislation.
Read more »