Despite extremely long odds, the White House says it will continue fighting to pass two partisan election overhaul bills that Democratic lawmakers believe are essential to preserving their majority in Congress.
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema appeared to kill off the last hope of passing the bills, saying Thursday that she “will not support” altering the filibuster to overcome united Republican opposition. But the fight continues regardless, according to top Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
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“We’re going to keep fighting until the votes are had,” she said during an afternoon press briefing. “[Biden’s] job is to take on tough challenges and to speak out for what’s right. And he thinks making changes to the rules in order to get voting rights passed, and to protect people’s fundamental rights, is right.”
Sinema is joined by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin in opposing a filibuster change, leaving a minority of 48 senators in support.
Biden himself met with Senate Democrats just after Sinema made her decisive Senate floor speech, leaving with a bleak outlook.
“I hope we can get this done,” Biden told reporters gathered outside the meeting room. “The honest-to-God answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for holding a vote on altering the filibuster, which will need to happen if the voting bills are to become law, before Jan. 17. That effort is now all but guaranteed to end in failure.
Nonetheless, Psaki promised the president will keep up the fight rather than turning to other legislative efforts.
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“As you heard the president say when he came out of the caucus meeting, we’re going to keep at it. We’re going to stay at it,” she said. “Leadership is continuing to fight for what’s right, continuing to fight to get something done.”