"It's definitely the watershed issue," said Senator Mike Braun. His planned blockade of the election reform bill has put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to either repeal the filibuster or reform the rule to give Biden a better chance of securing top priorities. McConnell caused an uproar among Democrats last week by saying he would block a Biden Supreme Court nominee if a court vacancy opened in 2024 and possibly in 2023 as well. That gives McConnell effective veto power over any Biden legislation that falls outside budget reconciliation, including gun control, police reform, voting rights and discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. Like most legislation, S-1 would need 60 votes to pass under the Senate's filibuster rule. The 100-seat Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, who control the chamber only because Vice President Kamala Harris wields a tie-breaking vote. This week's vote, expected on Tuesday, represents an early, high-stakes skirmish in the looming 2022 election battle to determine which party controls the Senate in the final half of Biden's four-year term. "The Senate will reject it."Ī compromise plan offered by moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, which Democrats could advance as an alternative, is unlikely to fare any better. "The Senate will finally get the opportunity to vote on the bill that House and Senate Democrats have both made their number one priority for the entire Congress," said McConnell, a 79-year-old Kentucky Republican who has described himself as "100%" focused on stopping the Biden administration. Capitol by supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump.īut the election reform legislation know as S-1, with its sweeping federal reforms of an election system largely overseen by state governments, represents the biggest item yet in the Republican standoff against Biden priorities they view as partisan. McConnell has already marshaled his caucus this year to reject a Democratic measure addressing the pay gap between men and women, and to thwart a bipartisan effort to create a commission to investigate the deadly Jan. "Not true," replied McConnell, who says he wants Biden to stick to moderate policies. "Mitch has been nothing but 'no' for a long time," Democratic President Joe Biden told reporters last week, as he prepared to return from Europe.
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