Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced she supports ending the Senate filibuster in order to reinstate federal abortion rights.
“I've been very clear: I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom, and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body, and not have their government tell them what to do,” the vice president said in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.
While Democrats face long odds to maintain control of the U.S. Senate after the 2024 election, progressive activists have called on the party to eliminate the filibuster — the 60-vote threshold for most legislation to pass — which has proven to be a roadblock for some bills, including efforts to strengthen reproductive rights.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two retiring independent senators who previously were Democrats, have opposed ending the filibuster. Critics argue the filibuster acts as a buffer to prevent Republicans from passing wideranging conservative legislation when they are in power.
In response to the news, Manchin on Tuesday afternoon told CNN that he would not back her presidential campaign, after he previously signaled that he would.
“Shame on her,” Manchin said about Harris. “She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids.”
