After a year of many failed Biden campaign promises, House and Democrat leadership are in panic mode about the 2022 midterm elections. The Senate has acted as the brakes for the far-left House bills. With Democrats holding a one-seat majority, moderate Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has been able to hold up legislation that has high price tags and extreme provisions. This slow pace has been the thorn in Senate Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) side, and now he wants to cut Sen. Manchin and everyone else who disagrees with him out of the equation.
At the beginning of this week, Sen. Schumer wrote to his colleagues:
Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy. We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
This statement signals that he wants to eliminate the filibuster. The filibuster requires sixty votes to pass most legislation. The current makeup of the Senate is tied with fifty Republican members and fifty members who caucus with the Democrat party. The Vice President casts her vote to break ties which ultimately give Democrats the majority. In order to reach a sixty-vote threshold, both parties have to compromise.
However, Sen. Schumer is tired of doing hard work, especially on a number of bills that were Biden campaign promises. One of those promises was a federal overtake of state elections. Three election-related bills currently hang in the balance: the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S.1), the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), and the Freedom to Vote Act (S.2747).
Democrats will use a number of things to push these election bills forward. They have blamed the January 6th riots on the Republicans who raised concerns about the 2020 elections. With the anniversary this week, they see it as a good opportunity to really hammer home their talking points. They also assert that current voting laws are racist by claiming that minorities are unable to get identification or make it to the polls. That absurd notion was struck down by the Supreme Court last year in a case pertaining to Arizona’s new election laws. Democrats are preparing to exploit the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday to bolster support.
One more piece of legislation that is hanging in the balance is the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). Democrats think if they tell the American people they are giving away free money toward families, childcare, and education, the rest of their unsavory agenda will be ignored. That’s not the case though. Members of Congress have sounded the alarm on the Green New Deal language, critical race theory trainings, and massive $1.7 trillion price tag that will fall on the backs of taxpayers.
What Sen. Schumer isn’t saying is that he wants to secure the 2022 elections for Democrats. Because the Biden administration and Democrat-led Congress squandered their power by passing extreme and harmful legislation, the American people want to see a change. Republicans are expected to bring back the majority in the House and possibly the Senate which would put the final nail in the coffin of the Biden agenda.
The good news is that not all Democrats want to get rid of the filibuster. Sen. Manchin penned an op-ed earlier last year confirming his stance. He stated:
The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster.
Even if all Democrats were on board, they would not have the required two-thirds majority to pass the rule change. Sen. Schumer’s threats are empty and as usual, lack the strategic means to accomplish his goals.
Eagle Forum is monitoring all election bills, Build Back Better legislation, and the efforts to eliminate the filibuster. You can take action on the filibuster this week to ensure your Senators are holding the line on this issue. Go to eagleforum.org/alerts to make your voice heard!
The Biden agenda has been slowed down thanks to the filibuster, but now there are talks to eliminate it. Senate Leader Schumer wants to push through his priorities of overtaking state elections and the socialist Build Back Better Act. Watch this week’s Capitol Hill Update for the details!