Wednesday proved to be a disappointing night for Democrats when a voting rights bill and a proposed change of filibuster rules both failed in the Senate. Where can the Biden administration go from here?
There is a possibility that the bill may be brought to the Senate floor again.
According to USA Today, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made a procedural move to vote against the voting rights bill which would allow him to bring the legislation – named the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act after the late senator – back at a later date.
The bill has already passed in the House of Representatives.
If it eventually becomes law, the bill would: expand voter registration and voting access, establish election day as a federal holiday, establish certain federal criminal offenses related to voting-related corruption, establish provisions related to election security, establish criteria for congressional redistricting and more.
Without Schumer’s nay vote Wednesday there was a tie, with all 50 Republicans in the Senate voting against the legislation and all 50 Democrats voting in favor it. Although Vice President Kamala Harris could break a tie in favor of the Democrats, a three fifths vote was needed to pass the bill.
Schumer was aiming to pass the legislation with a one-time exemption by proposing a rules change, according to CBS News. This change would have altered filibuster rules for the voting rights bill so it could pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.
However, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats, voted against the change.
Manchin and Sinema have also blocked President Joe Biden’s large “Build Back Better” spending bill.
“I cannot support such a perilous course for this nation when elected leaders are sent to Washington to unite our country, not to divide our country,” said Manchin of his decision not to back the filibuster rules change. “Putting politics and party aside is what we're supposed to do. It's time that we do the hard work to forge the difficult compromises that can stand the test of time.”
Sinema shared similar sentiments.
Other members of the party, including Biden, felt differently.
“But even for those who feel that the filibuster is a good thing and helps bring us together, I would ask this question: isn't the protection of voting rights, the most fundamental wellspring of this democracy, more important?” Schumer asked. “Isn’t protecting voting rights and protecting their diminution more important than a rule in the Senate?”
Midterm elections this year could change the makeup of both the House and the Senate. Whether that will make it easier for Democrats to pass legislation such as the voting rights bill and Build Back Better is not yet clear.
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