Senate Democrat Manchin Remains Opposed to Filibuster Change  

WASHINGTON - A centrist U.S. Democratic lawmaker, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, is renewing his opposition to changes in the parliamentary rules in the politically divided Senate, imperiling President Joe Biden’s ambitious legislative agenda. 

In the Senate, now with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, members of both parties in recent years have more frequently employed a filibuster to block key legislation they did not like. Once a filibuster has begun, it requires a 60-vote super majority to end debate and move a bill to a final vote.  Some progressive Democrats want to end use of the filibuster in order to approve Biden’s legislative proposals on voting rights, infrastructure spending and more on 51-50 votes, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote in favor of the Biden agenda. But Manchin, perhaps the most conservative lawmaker in the 50-member Democratic caucus, has long defended the filibuster.