The 2020 election cycle delivered Democrats the White House, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and a functional but razor-thin majority in the Senate.
But Democratic voters are growing increasingly frustrated at the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass most legislation. With the Senate evenly divided, this requires at least 10 Republicans to step across the aisle and support Democratic legislation—a nonstarter in most cases given the harsh political divisions in the United States.
There's widespread support within the party for abolishing, or at least reforming, the filibuster in a way that would allow legislation like the For The People Act, the Equality Act, and expanded healthcare access to pass.
But at least two Democratic Senators—Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona—continue to insist the filibuster should in no way be modified, baselessly claiming that Republican lawmakers will eventually reach across the aisle.
Manchin reiterated his opposition to filibuster reform in an op-ed this month, where he wrote:
"Yes, this process can be frustrating and slow. It will force compromises that are not always ideal. But consider the alternative. Do we really want to live in an America where one party can dictate and demand everything and anything it wants, whenever it wants?"
He then announced he would vote against the For The People Act, a landmark voting rights bill to combat the growing number of voter suppression proposals by Republican state legislatures.
During a Fox Business phone interview, former President Donald Trump praised Manchin for his continued bulwark against a productive Congress.
Watch below.
Trump said of Manchin:
"It's a very important thing. He's doing the right thing, and it's a very important thing."
But even Manchin himself, in the op-ed, noted that Trump supported ending the filibuster when it was politically convenient:
"As a reminder, just four short years ago, in 2017 when Republicans held control of the White House and Congress, President Donald Trump was publicly urging Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster."
Trump repeatedly pressured then-Senate Majority Leader MItch McConnell (R-KY) to abolish the filibuster and ensure the confirmation of Trump's first Supreme Court Justice, Neil Gorsuch in 2017. McConnell complied by lowering the nomination threshold for Supreme Court Justices to make them filibuster-proof.
People didn't hesitate to point out Trump's hypocrisy on the issue.
Trump's praise for Manchin has only exacerbated Democrats' frustration with the Senator.
It doesn't look like Manchin's position will change.
@WhiteHouse/X
