However, despite Biden’s recently announced support for splitting the filibuster, his best bet will be next year – and only if Democrats win at least two Senate seats and occupy the House of Representatives is an extremely high task.
Asked what enforcement action he would use to strengthen abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Rowe v. Wade last week, Biden told a news conference in Madrid: “The most important thing … we need to change – I believe that we need to codify Rowe vs. Wade in law. ”
“And the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes on it. And if the filibuster interferes, it’s like the right to vote – it must be (that) to provide an exception to this … requiring an exemption for the filibuster for this action to deal with the decision of the Supreme Court, “he added.
The president then clarified that he was also open to changing the filibuster’s rules on “the right to privacy, not just the right to abortion.”
This is a strong call from a president who has so far not insisted on pushing for any changes in Senate rules, despite calls from progressives to remove the filibuster in order to adopt its agenda. Biden had told CNN’s Anderson Cooper at City Hall last year that he would be ready to change the filibuster to pass “and maybe more” voting rights legislation. His comments on Thursday were the first time he had expressed full readiness to eliminate the filibuster specifically for abortion rights.
The Senate does not have the required 60 votes to codify Rowe against Wade under current rules.
Major Moderate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kirsten Cinema of Arizona have opposed opposition to changing the rules of the filibuster. And although Manchin is open to Rowe’s legislative codification against Wade, both senators oppose gutting the filibuster, their services repeated on Thursday.
Cinema’s office cited a Washington Post article the senator wrote last year in which she claimed the filibuster was used to protect abortion rights and block things like 20-week abortion bans.
So, without the support of Manchin or Cinema, the Democrats will have to go through the November elections – when their party faces the darkest medium-term environment in a decade – to approve abortion rights legislation.
Democrat senators in Madrid as part of a congressional delegation to the NATO summit were pessimistic, pointing to the huge role of Manchin and Cinema in changing the rules.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s second-highest-ranking Democrat, told reporters in Madrid that in the 50-50 Senate, “the idea of changing the rules is really at the mercy of one or two senators who can make that decision.” us. ”
He added that “this is not the political environment in which to seek” “mass institutional change”.
“I voted to end the (flibuster),” said Senator Jeanne Shahin, a Democrat from New Hampshire. “It didn’t work out, so we may or may not take it again.
Despite the small number of polls and the poor prospects for retaining the Democratic majority in the House, the White House sees a way to win seats in the Senate to increase its small majority.
Retaining their current seats and adding at least two new Democratic senators could, in theory, pave the way for securing votes to change Senate rules.
Biden’s call coincides with the White House’s efforts to increase urgency ahead of the midterm elections – and comes as national Democrats increasingly fear that the Biden administration is not doing enough to deal with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The behavior of the Supreme Court is “destabilizing”
Speaking after a series of summits with world leaders in Europe, Biden has widely challenged the characteristics that America is going backwards. But he acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s return to abortion rights and the right to privacy was “destabilizing.”
“We have been a world leader in terms of personal rights and privacy rights. And I think it is a mistake for the Supreme Court to do what it did,” he said.
These comments angered Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who later called the president’s comments on the court “undeserved and dangerous.”
“Attacking a major US institution, such as the Supreme Court, from the world stage is beneath the president’s dignity,” McConnell, a leading Senate Republican, said in a statement. “Furthermore, President Biden’s attacks on the Court are undeserved and dangerous. He is upset that the Court has said that people, through their elected representatives, will have a say in abortion policy. This does not destabilize democracy, but confirms it. , behavior like the president undermines equality and the rule of law. “
“I’m the only president they have”
During Thursday’s press conference, Biden also defended his ability to effectively convey the message to Democrats about abortion. Despite his complicated history on the issue, he told progressive members of his party that they had little choice on the issue.
“I am the only president they have,” he said.
Some Democrats have criticized Biden for not speaking louder about protecting abortion rights. After the Supreme Court overturned Rowe v. Wade, some complained that he did not want to go far enough in defending access to abortion.
But Biden said he was the one in the White House.
“I am the president of the United States,” he said. “That makes me the best messenger.”
He called the abortion decision “a serious, serious problem that the court has posed to the United States,” linking the decision to other potential issues such as marriage rights.
“I feel extremely strong that I will do everything in my power that I can legally do with regard to executive orders,” he said.
During a news conference Thursday, the president said he would meet with governors on Friday to discuss abortion issues and there would be “announcements to make then”.
This story was updated with more than the press conference on Thursday.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett and Morgan Reamer contributed to this report.
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