WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was willing to go ahead with a power-sharing deal after two Democratic senators said they would not support the end of the legislative filibuster, a central point for the GOP in conversations.
In a statement Monday afternoon, the Kentucky Republican said his concerns about the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation, had been allayed by comments from Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin that they reaffirmed their opposition to its elimination. His statements earlier in the day noted that Democrats do not have the necessary votes to kill the filibuster unilaterally, as this would require all 50, plus Vice President Kamala Harris, to vote en bloc.
President Biden, who served 36 years in the Senate, said during his presidential campaign that he would prefer to preserve the filibuster, unless the Republican Party’s resistance to its legislative agenda causes it to be eliminated. Asked on Friday if Biden still opposes the removal of the filibuster, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “The president’s position has not changed.”
Democratic senators “agree with President Biden and my view that no majority in the Senate should destroy the right of future minorities on both sides to help shape legislation,” McConnell said in a statement. Monday night. In his statement, he pointed to an agreement in 2001 – the last time there was a 50- to 50-year-old Senate – as a model for 2021.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., New York) had previously taken this approach, which gave parties equal seats on committees and allowed candidates and laws to move forward even if the committee voted. was matched.