Sen. Angus King (I-ME) will stand behind keeping the filibuster after previously saying he was for scrapping the filibuster for “voting rights” and “democracy.”
King, who has previously said he would be in support of changing the filibuster rules if Senate Republicans block the Democrats’ partisan election takeover bill, now is in favor of preserving the filibuster.
CNN Capitol Hill reporter Manu Raju, who patrols the halls of Congress, reported, King said he’s not there yet does not “think the discussion is over” on the election bill.
He continued to tell Raju, “We are still working on a bill with Joe Manchin that scales back some of the items in S1 that were objectionable to the Republicans. I’d still like to find a bill where we can find some consensus.”
He reportedly said “no” when talking about supporting lowering the 60 vote threshold to 51, ultimately getting rid of the filibuster.
He added, “I think we’re going to give them a few more chances to try to solve a problem.”
Previously King was asked by Jake Tapper on CNN’s the State of the Union if he would get rid of the filibuster when talking about the voting rights bill. He said, “If it comes down to voting rights and the rights of Americans to go to the polls and select their leaders versus the filibuster, I’ll choose democracy.”