Biden says he'd be willing to eliminate filibuster to pass voting rights and "maybe more"

President Biden ventured a step further in favor of eliminating the filibuster in some instances, after this week saw the defeat of voting rights legislation in the Senate, and the nation earlier this month teetered on the brink of default because of a Senate standoff over raising the debt limit. 

In a town-hall-style event Thursday with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Mr. Biden said he would be open to doing away with the filibuster in order to pass voting rights and "maybe more." He indicated the debt ceiling may be one issue worth considering for dispensing with the filibuster. Mr. Biden appears to be more open than he's been in the past to changing the filibuster. This exceeds his previous position that the Senate should reinstate the "talking" filibuster, that is, physically standing on the floor and filibustering in person.

Action on the filibuster isn't imminent, though, given the tenuous political realities of the social safety net spending he's negotiating right now. Mr. Biden told Cooper, "If, in fact, I get myself into — at this moment — the debate on the filibuster, I lose at least three votes right now to get what I have to get done on the economic side of the equation." He said focusing on the American Rescue Plan, infrastructure and social spending bill had come at the expense of passing police reform and a voting rights law — and it was the greatest regret of his presidency so far.