WASHINGTON (WV News) — Talk of eliminating the filibuster continues to dominate Capitol Hill, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Thursday.
Capito, during a virtual press conference, predicted efforts to eliminate the filibuster so Democrats can pass voting rights legislation will ultimately be unsuccessful.
“I believe it will fail,” she said. “I think (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer’s attempt will fail. He is supposedly going to be doing this all over this coming weekend, so we’ll see shortly what the results are.”
President Joe Biden recently called on all 50 Democratic senators to support amending the Senate’s filibuster rules to allow the passage of two stalled vote rights bills by a simple majority. Current filibuster rules effectively require 60 votes to pass most major legislation.
While Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, have been the most vocal Democrats in opposition of eliminating the filibuster, there are others who privately share their views, Capito said.
“I do know, in private conversations with other senators, that there are more than a few other senators that have big questions about what this would mean for the long-term ramifications of the functioning of the United States Senate,” she said. “I think there are others who are probably not as public who would like to see this whole issue come to a head so that we can move on.”
The filibuster has been an important procedural tool for more than 200 years, Capito said.
“What it does is it really slows things down in a good way,” she said.
“It promotes bipartisanship, it makes sure that the party that is in the minority has a strong voice and is able to weigh in on issues of the day and it also gives a good opportunity for smaller states to have a bigger voice, like West Virginia,” Capito said.
Eliminating the filibuster could lead to unintended consequences in the future, Capito said.
“It could lead to all kinds of different swings to our policies, and that’s not good for our country,” she said. “We need to stay in a more predictable fashion that the filibuster affords for us.”
While Capito was conducting her press conference Thursday, Sinema reiterated her “long-standing support” for the fillibuster during a Senate floor speech.
“Eliminating the 60-vote threshold will simply guarantee that we lose a critical tool that we need to safeguard our democracy,” Sinema said.
Manchin issued a statement Thursday afternoon reiterating his “long-held commitment to protecting the filibuster and the input of the Senate minority.”
“The filibuster plays an important role in protecting our democracy from the transitory passions of the majority and respecting the input of the minority in the Senate,” Manchin said. “Contrary to what some have said – protecting the role of the minority, Democrat or Republican, has protected us from the volatile political swings we have endured over the last 233 years. The role of the minority is what ensures the policies of our nation have input from all corners of the country. We must never forget that the Senate governs for all 50 states, not just red or blue states.”