Attempt to change Senate filibuster rule fails after Republicans block voting rights bill

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

published 20 January 2022

The Senate on Wednesday night voted against changing the chamber's filibuster rule, which Democrats say is necessary in order to push through voting rights legislation that is being blocked by Republicans.

The vote was 52-48, with two Democratic senators — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — joining the Republicans in opposition.

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The floor debate on the matter lasted about 10 hours. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), whose state imposed strict voting laws in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, declared that this is "a moral moment," while Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) took umbrage to links being made between the GOP and Jim Crow laws. "I am not a racist," he said. "Nor are the people who I know in the state of South Dakota."

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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.

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