Sinema and Manchin say they won't support eliminating the filibuster


Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday were quick to throw water on their fellow Democrats' plan to pass voting rights legislation.
Both Sinema and Manchin said they do not support eliminating the filibuster, the Senate's 60-vote supermajority rule. On Tuesday, President Biden delivered fiery remarks about voting rights during an address in Georgia, and endorsed changing the filibuster in order to get the legislation through.
Biden met privately with Democratic lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill, but before he could arrive to rally the troops, Sinema made a speech on the Senate floor, saying, "While I continue to support these [voting] bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country." She added that her colleagues "must address the disease itself ... to protect our democracy. The response requires something greater and, yes, more difficult than what the Senate is discussing today."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Manchin released a statement after Biden left Capitol Hill, saying the filibuster plays an "important role in protecting our democracy from the transitory passions of the majority and respecting the input of the minority in the Senate. Ending the filibuster would be the easy way out. I cannot support such a perilous course for this nation when elected leaders are sent to Washington to unite our country by putting politics and party aside."
Several Democrats who met with Biden on Thursday told The Washington Post that he did not mention Sinema and Manchin, instead focusing on the morality of passing voting rights legislation. "He emphasized not only that history will be watching you, but that a lot of people don't have an opportunity to do something that will do so much good for so many at a time where it's so necessary," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) shared with the Post.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he will bring two voting rights bills to the Senate floor in the next few days, and Biden told reporters on Thursday night he hopes "we can get this done. The honest-to-God answer is, I don't know if we can get this done. But one thing for certain, one thing for certain, like every other major civil rights bill that came along, if we miss the first time, we can come back and try a second time."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 26, 2025
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - ice cold eggs, lax security, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The strange phenomenon of beard transplants
In The Spotlight Inquiries for the procedure have tripled since 2020, according to one clinician, as prospective patients reportedly seek a more 'masculine' look
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: March 26, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Schumer: Did he betray the Democrats?
Feature 'Schumer had only bad political options'
By The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk set to earn billions from Trump administration
Speed Read Musk's company SpaceX will receive billions in federal government contracts in the coming years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reports: Musk to get briefed on top secret China war plan
Speed Read In a major expansion of Elon Musk's government role, he will be briefed on military plans for potential war with China
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump signs order to end Education Department
Speed Read The move will return education 'back to the states where it belongs,' the president says
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses $175M for Penn over trans athlete
Speed Read The president is withholding federal funds from the University of Pennsylvania because it once allowed a transgender swimmer to compete
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published