President Biden will journey to Capitol Hill on Thursday to implore Senate Democrats to blow up the filibuster and ram through a partisan rewrite of the nation’s voting laws.
Mr. Biden is set to address the Senate Democratic conference during a special lunch session. The president is expected to urge lawmakers to stand united behind blowing up the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, arguing that participatory democracy itself is at stake.
“This is a defining moment that will divide everything before and everything after,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “The most fundamental American right that all others flow from — the right to vote and have your vote counted — is at risk.”
Mr. Biden’s remarks to Senate Democrats are likely to be a reprise of the arguments he made earlier this week during a speech in Atlanta.
“I believe that the threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills, debate them, vote,” Mr. Biden said. “Let the majority prevail. And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this.”
Democrats increasingly view the filibuster as an obstacle standing in the way of implementing the White House’s domestic agenda. Such talk has gained steam since the demise of Mr. Biden’s $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate change bill.
Changing the filibuster and passing the election and voting bills would give Mr. Biden and congressional Democrats a sorely needed legislative win ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. It would also help appease Black voters, a key Democratic voting bloc that has been disappointed by Mr. Biden’s failure to deliver promised racial justice laws despite Democrats’ control of the White House and Congress.
“The time has come for the Senate to pass voting rights legislation and take whatever steps necessary to address this chamber’s rules in order to accomplish that goal,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
Democrats are planning to have the House pass two voting measures later this week and send them to Senate as an emergency special “message.” That means the measures can be considered immediately, rather than going through the Senate’s regular rules.
Lawmakers say that loophole will allow the chamber to bring the bill up for debate without requiring the 60-vote filibuster threshold to be met. The threshold will be in place for ending debate on the bill and moving forward toward a vote.
Mr. Schumer contends the special message process is needed to ensure lawmakers can debate the voting measures in full. Democrats hope the attention brought by the debate will either convince Republican lawmakers to cave or cement unity in their ranks behind blowing up the filibuster.
“To ultimately end debate and pass the voting rights legislation, we will need 10 Republicans to join us — which we know from past experience will not happen — or we will need to change the Senate rules as has been done many times before,” Mr. Schumer wrote in a memo to colleagues.
To succeed in changing the filibuster rules, Mr. Schumer needs the support of all 50 Senate Democrats.
Standing in the way, however, are a cadre of moderate Democrats, most notably Sen. Joe Manchin III. The West Virginia lawmaker, who single-handedly derailed Mr. Biden’s social welfare package over inflation concerns, has expressed reservations about blowing up the filibuster.
“We need some good rules changes to make the place work better,” said Mr. Manchin. “But getting rid of the filibuster doesn’t make it work better.”
Mr. Biden only antagonized his opponents earlier this week with a speech in Georgia to drum up support for blowing up the filibuster and passing the voting bills. In the speech, he attacked the Senate as a relic with antiquated rules and traditions that stymy progress.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said the president abandoned “rational persuasion for pure demagoguery.”
“The world saw our sitting commander-in-chief propagandize against his own country to a degree that would have made Pravda blush,” he said.
Even some Democrats have admitted publicly the remarks were over the top.
“Perhaps the President went a little too far in his rhetoric,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat. “But the fundamental principles and values at stake are very, very similar.”
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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