Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) is once again reiterating his opposition to eliminating the legislative filibuster. But he says it should be “painful” for senators to use the filibuster to block legislation.
The Senate’s website describes the filibuster as “a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.”
With the filibuster in place, Democrats would need at least 60 votes to pass legislation — a tall order in an evenly divided Senate. That has led some to call for the elimination of the filibuster to allow Democrats to pass legislation with just 51-votes.
However, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has expressed his opposition to getting rid of the filibuster.
During an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, Manchin reiterated his position but said he could support a measure that would make it harder for senators to use the filibuster.
“The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we’ve made it more comfortable over the years, not intentionally,” Manchin said. “Maybe it has to be more painful. Maybe you have to stand there. There’s things we can talk about.”
However, he warned against getting rid of the filibuster, which he argues gives the minority party the “ability to be involved” in legislation.
Watch the video below:
Manchin repeats opening to 'reforming' the filibuster on FOX: "The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we've made it more comfortable over the years … Maybe it has to be more painful, maybe you have to stand there." pic.twitter.com/bJn77L1Mpi
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 7, 2021
Host Chris Wallace asked if Manchin was stating that he would support making it harder to use the filibuster.
“I’d make it harder to get rid of the filibuster. I’m supporting the filibuster. I’m going to continue to support the filibuster. I think it defines who we are as a Senate,” Manchin said.
He added, “I’ll make it harder to get rid of it. But, it should be painful if you want to use it.”
To abolish the filibuster, all 50 Democrats would need to vote in favor of the move, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote.
However, Manchin has made clear that he does not plan on voting to scrap the filibuster, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has also said she would oppose the move.