The filibuster is a threshold of 60 votes in the Senate that’s necessary before a piece of legislation is given an up or down vote.
Fox News reports:
In his speech, Biden is expected to “forcefully advocate” for protecting what a White House official described as “the most bedrock American rights: the right to vote and have your vote counted in a free, fair and secure election that is not tainted by partisan manipulation.”
Biden’s remarks will take place in the former district of late Rep. John Lewis, as he urges the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation,” Biden will say, according to prepared remarks. “Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice?”
A White House official reportedly told Fox News that Biden supports changing Senate rules to adjust the filibuster.
“Because abuse of what was once a rarely used mechanism that is not in the Constitution has injured the body enormously, and its use to protect extreme attacks on the most basic constitutional right is abhorrent.”
Republicans blocked Democrats voting rights legislation four times last year, however, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly threatened his party will find a way to get rid of the filibuster if Republicans continue to block the bill.
