Clyburn on updating election law: ‘What is true today was not true then’

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) weighed in on the debate over making changes to the Electoral Count Act on Sunday, saying that any modifications that are passed “must fit the times.”

While appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Clyburn was asked by guest host Bret Baier whether or not Congress was deciding against changing the Electoral Count Act despite appearing to have enough votes. Clyburn stated that while Congress was willing to change the law, there was more that needed to be done.

“We’ll take that but that’s not all we need to do,” Clyburn said. “I also know that what is true today was not true then. And therefore, the kind of changes that we need to make the kind of modifications that need we need to make must fit the times.”

Lawmakers in the Capitol have begun floating around the idea of making changes to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which dictates how Congress formally counts the Electoral College vote.

The idea has already garnered some bipartisan support, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying it was “worth discussing.”

“This country has matured. This country is not same country it was over 200 years ago and so we as a people must mature right along with it,” Clyburn said on Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appears to share in Clyburn’s view on making changes to the electoral legislation, saying last week that changing the law doesn’t “deal with the problem.”

“Let me take this opportunity to make clear that plan, the McConnell plan that’s what it is, is … unacceptably insufficient and even offensive,” Schumer said of McConnell’s suggestions.