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Biden Supports Senate Bypassing Filibuster Rule to Pass Voting Rights Legislation

HeadlineJan 12, 2022

President Biden publicly endorsed changing Senate rules to prevent Republicans from using the filibuster to block voting rights legislation. Biden spoke Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia.

President Joe Biden: “To protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules, whichever way they need to be changed, to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights. When it comes to protecting majority rule in America, the majority should rule in the United States Senate.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to introduce proposals to change the filibuster rules as early as today in an effort to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. But it remains unclear if Democrats will have enough votes due to possible opposition from Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

A number of voting rights groups in Georgia boycotted Biden’s speech, saying they needed concrete action, not a “photo op.” We will speak to two prominent voting rights leaders after headlines — one who attended Biden’s speech and one who refused.

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