Senate

Trump: Manchin ‘doing the right thing’ by saying he will not end filibuster

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 06/07/21 11:52 AM ET

Former President Trump on Monday praised Sen. Joe Manchin for his opposition to dismantling the Senate filibuster as the West Virginia Democrat faces backlash from members of his own party.

“Well, it’s a very important thing. He’s doing the right thing and it’s a very important thing,” Trump said of Manchin during an appearance on Fox News on Monday. “Otherwise you’re going to be packing the court. You’re going to be doing all sorts of very, very bad things that were unthinkable and were never even brought up during the election. Nobody brought this stuff up.”

Trump said the idea of abolishing the filibuster, a rule that can be used by either party to force nearly unfettered debate on the floor, is “so radical liberal, radical left, Bernie Sanders can’t believe it.”

Manchin, a conservative Democrat who is key for the party to be able to pass their agenda through the upper chamber, reiterated his position on the filibuster in an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on Sunday, in which he also came out against the Democrats’ bill to overhaul elections.

“I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster,” Manchin wrote.

Other moderate Senators such as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have also said they will not vote to do away with the rule.

Progressives lawmakers and organizations, meanwhile, have been ramping up pressure on their leadership to nix the procedural hurdle as Republicans stand in the way of nearly any major legislative initiative.

“We call on you and the Senate Democratic caucus to eliminate the filibuster as a weapon that Sen. McConnell can use to block efforts to defend and strengthen our democracy and make our government work for the American people,” a group called Fix Our Senate wrote to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) after Republicans blocked the creation of a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, while Republicans were in control of the Senate and the White House, also openly mused about nixing the filibuster during a meeting with Republicans in 2018, saying Schumer would not be afraid to use the “nuclear option” if he became Senate majority leader one day.