Democrats fail to change Senate rules to pass new voting rights bill
The Senate failed Wednesday to pass the voting rights bill, as Republicans blocked Democrat efforts.
Democrats failed on Wednesday to change Senate rules in order to pass their voting rights bill, amid disunity in their own ranks and a Republican blockade against their efforts.
Although the odds were stacked against passing the bill in the very polarized Senate, Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer decided to push forward with the voting in order to highlight a "crisis in voting rights".
The Democrats' only success was allowing the bill to be debated before Republicans voted it down.
In a seemingly retaliatory move, the Democrats then attempted to push for an alteration in the Senate's filibuster rules to allow the bill to move forward with a simple majority, yet it was another unsuccessful bid due to the party's own disunity as some members voted against the proposal.
Biden backs controversial maneuver to push voting reforms past Republicans
A White House official said on January 11 that US President Joe Biden used a major speech to endorse the controversial change in Senate rules that would allow for the sweeping voting law reform to be pushed past the Republicans.
The official said, on condition of anonymity, that Biden, who was giving the speech in Atlanta, Georgia, supported "changing the Senate rules" to require a simple majority for most votes, so that "this basic right is defended."
Republicans are unanimously opposed to the reforms, which Biden described as "critical to US democracy," and would normally be able to thwart a Democratic supermajority. Biden also supported suspending the filibuster rule, which would have allowed Democrats to pass bills with a simple majority.