Vice President Kamala Harris suggested Tuesday on NPR that she has talked to senators about a voting rights exception to the legislative filibuster suggested to her by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC).
Host Asma Khalid said, “Congressman Jim Clyburn, who we should point out is a good friend of the White House, is calling for a tweak to the filibuster. He said not to end it entirely but to carve out an exception that could allow Democrats to pass voting rights legislation with a simple majority. He told Politico that he actually explicitly shared his thinking on this with you. So I want to ask, do you support that idea? Do you think it’s something that could work?”
Harris said, “Here is what I will say, I believe that of all of the issues that the United States Congress can take up, the right to vote is the right that unlocks all the other rights. And for that reason, it should be one of its highest priorities. The members of the Senate are going to have to address this. We are going to continue to work to find a path forward no matter how difficult. Obviously, it’s going to require all the Democrats in the Senate to agree with that approach.”
Khalid said, “Is it an approach you have been advocating for at all just among your former colleagues in the Senate that maybe it is worth carving out an exception for voting rights?”
Harris said, “I’m not going to kind of negotiate. Sorry, I don’t mean this in any offense, but I’m not going to negotiate this way. But I’m certainly having conversations with folks.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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