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Democrats attempted a major power grab in the Senate by ending the filibuster, but they received bad news as Senator Joe Manchin turned on his own party and sided with Republicans.
In the middle of Joe Biden’s press conference, Manchin took to the Senate floor and defended the filibuster.
Democrats currently hold a slight majority in the Senate of 51 to 50, but they have still been unable to pass their left-wing legislative agenda.
Since Republicans refuse to cooperate, Democrats threatened to drastically change Senate rules in order to get their way.
More specifically, liberals are trying to pass a bill called “Freedom to Vote Act,” but fortunately a Republican-led filibuster has blocked the move.
The bill is intended to significantly expand voting access so individuals can vote by mail or vote early. It would also expand voter registration by allowing for “automatic registration” and “same-day registration.”
Republicans have rightly argued the legislation will create a significant risk of voter fraud. As a result, Democrats have been unable to get the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation.
In an act of desperation, Vice President Kamala Harris warned that Democrats are “not going to give up.”
Moderate Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia signaled that he doesn’t support this move by Democrats. This would torpedo the Democrats’ plan to change Senate rules.
Watch the clip:
.@Sen_JoeManchin: "Let this change happen in this way and the Senate will be a body without rules." pic.twitter.com/dxBzzYo1oQ
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2022
More from Townhall:
Despite pressure from the left and the White House, Manchin is standing his ground against eliminating the filibuster in order to pass Biden’s agenda. He has repeatedly expressed concerns over runaway inflation, which is why he won’t vote to pass Biden’s multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better plan.
“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight,” Manchin released in a December statement. “The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill’s ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill.”
Manchin has also opposed Biden’s calls to eliminate the filibuster in order to nationalize elections and eliminate voter identification.
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