Manchin says he won't vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster

Washington — Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who wields significant power in the party's narrow 50-seat majority in the Senate, reiterated that he would not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster, all but dooming the chances of passage for several key Democratic priorities. Ending the filibuster would mean that legislation could advance in the Senate with only a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote threshold currently required.

"There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster," Manchin said in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. "The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation." As Democrats only hold 50 seats in the Senate, they would need support from at least 10 Republicans to end debate on most legislation and bring bills to the floor for a full vote. Several of the measures which have recently passed the House — shoring up voting rights, enacting campaign finance reform, enshrining legal protections for LGBTQ Americans, raising the federal minimum wage and implementing stronger background checks for firearm purchases — are unlikely to garner support from the requisite number of Republicans.