Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments about ending the Senate filibuster cost her the endorsement of a key Senate moderate.
Sen. Joe Manchin III was outraged Tuesday to hear that Ms. Harris supports ending the Senate’s filibuster rule in order to codify abortion rights.
“Shame on her,” the West Virginia independent said in the Capitol, CNN reported. “She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids.”
Mr. Manchin, who made the switch from Democrat to Independent earlier this year, was reportedly planning to endorse Ms. Harris but was immediately turned off by her comment.
“That ain’t going to happen,” he said. “I think that basically can destroy our country, and my country is more important to me than any one person or any one person’s ideology … I think it’s the most horrible thing.”
Ms. Harris made her comment about ending the filibuster in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio that aired Tuesday.
“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” she said, “And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.”
When he was asked about her past support of ending the filibuster, Mr. Manchin said he was hoping she would change her mind, citing as an example her purported current opposition to banning fracking despite her earlier years of opposition to the method of oil and gas exploration.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.