Mitch McConnell defends likely Republican filibuster of Senate voting rights debate

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) remarks on the chamber floor Tuesday morning all but officially signed the death certificate for Democrats' sweeping election reform bill, the For The People Act.

The upper chamber, McConnell claims, is no obstacle to voting laws "done the right way." Only when the "policy is flawed and the process is rotten" might the Senate stand in a bill's path — which, he claims, is the job of the legislative body.

Therefore "today, the Senate's going to fulfill our founding purpose, stop the partisan power grab, and reject S.1," McConnell asserts.

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The Senate will vote later Tuesday on whether to open debate on voting rights legislation, but needing 60 votes to overcome the chamber's filibuster rule, Democrats are unlikely to garner the 10 Republican votes needed to proceed. McConnell has previously signaled GOP opposition to the bill, even after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued an updated proposal intended as a step toward bipartisan compromise.

Watch a clip of McConnell's comments below: