Joe Manchin Reiterates Opposition to Annulling Filibuster, Federalizing Elections After Meeting with President

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reiterated Wednesday he does not support federalizing elections or annulling the filibuster after meeting with President Joe Biden on Monday.

“If you do it for one time you basically destroy the Senate as we know it,” he said in relation to the filibuster, per an ABC News reporter.

The report also said Manchin still does not support the HR 1 House bill to federalize elections.

“How in the world could you, with the tension we have right now, allow a voting bill to restructure the voting of America on a partisan line? I just believe with all my heart and soul that’s what would happen, and I’m not going to be part of it,” he said April 27.

.@Sen_JoeManchin tells @rachelvscott he supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act but not the more expansive HR1 – and still opposes the filibuster on voting rights issues.

"If you do it for one time you basically destroy the Senate as we know it," he said. Per @AllisonMPecorin

— Ben Siegel (@bensiegel) May 12, 2021

Manchin additionally said in a statement March 25:

A healthy democracy depends on a voting system that is accessible, free, fair, and secure. There are some legitimate concerns about the implementation of the For the People Act, especially in rural areas. As a former Secretary of State, I know, firsthand, the importance of local decision-making around voter accessibility and election security.

With that in mind, there are bipartisan proposals embedded in this bill that can strike the right balance and make great strides on each of these issues. Instead of arguing about the election reforms on which we disagree, Congress should be working together to enact those on which we can agree.

The news comes after the Senate held a hearing on the legislation Tuesday.

Breitbart News’ Jacob Bliss wrote Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “hammered the Democrats on their partisan ‘For the People Act’ during the bill’s Rules Committee Hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, warning how the bill would strike down widely supported voter ID laws.”

Manchin and Cruz’s view of the legislation is constant with a poll released by Fox News that showed the overwhelming majority of voters support the requirement to show a valid ID to prove citizenship before voting. The overwhelming percent went as high as 77 percent from a national poll.