President Joe Biden does not want to abolish or reform the Senate filibuster, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced Monday.
Reporters questioned Psaki on Biden’s filibuster stance during Monday’s press briefing. Many Democrats have called for abolishing to rule to allow them to use their razor-thin majority to pass legislation. Psaki confirmed that Biden still opposes removing the filibuster and clarified that he does not want to reform it either, as Democrat West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has proposed. (RELATED: Sen. Roy Blunt Announces He Will Not Run For Reelection In 2022)
“The president’s preference is to not get rid of the filibuster. Look at what we’ve accomplished the past 6 weeks,” Psaki told reporters. “He believes that with the current structure that he can work with Democrats and Republicans to get work and business done.”
Psaki says Biden and Sen. Manchin “speak regularly,” doesn’t further specify what that means.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) March 8, 2021
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he will do “what it takes” to pass legislation, including abolishing the filibuster. The rule allows Republicans to require a two-thirds majority in order to pass legislation.
More moderate Democrats like Manchin and Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have aggressively opposed plans to abolish the rule.
“Kyrsten is against eliminating the filibuster, and she is not open to changing her mind about eliminating the filibuster,” a spokesperson for Sinema told the Washington Post in January.
Manchin argues the Senate is structured to protect the minority party, and his “Republican friends” must get input on legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to abolish the filibuster in 2017 and 2018 when Republicans held both chambers in Congress and the presidency, arguing it would cause long-term damage.