Dick Durbin doesn't know what Joe Manchin will do

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) isn't sure what Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will do. He's also unsure about other Senate Democrats, for that matter.
As the Senate prepares for a Tuesday vote on whether to launch a debate on federal voting rights legislation, Durbin said he "just [doesn't] know yet" whether Manchin will move alongside other Democrats, reports CNN. Manchin has previously stated his opposition to the much-debated voter reform bill known as the For The People Act, but just last week introduced a set of compromises he would be willing to support, if included. But as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday, Tuesday's vote is not on "any particular policy" — just whether or not the voting rights debate should be opened.
Durbin did also thank Manchin for his efforts to reach an agreement, even if "the compromise he proposed is not inclusive of everything I'd like to see in a bill." Durbin added, "It deserves the support of the Senate."
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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