[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The voting rights expansion bill pushed by the U.S. Democratic Party was ultimately rejected due to opposition from principled members within the party, according to U.S. political media outlet The Hill on the 19th (local time). President Joe Biden expressed deep disappointment, saying he "failed to defend democracy."
According to reports, the voting rights expansion bill was rejected in a procedural vote with 49 votes in favor and 51 against, alongside unanimous opposition from the Republican Party. Subsequently, the Democrats immediately attempted to amend the filibuster rules to pass the bill later, but this effort also failed with 48 votes in favor and 52 against.
The Democrats introduced this bill to lower the number of seats required to pass legislation from the current 60 to a simple majority of 51, by changing the filibuster, a legitimate parliamentary obstruction procedure. However, the bill was rejected as Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) voted against it.
Currently, the U.S. Senate is evenly split with 50 seats each held by the Republicans and the Democrats, including pro-Democratic independents. If the filibuster threshold is lowered to a simple majority, even with a 50-50 split, Vice President Kamala Harris (Democrat), who serves as the Senate President, would be able to cast the deciding vote to pass legislation.
President Biden supported the amendment of filibuster rules, but after the bill was finally rejected, he stated, "I am deeply disappointed in the Senate," adding, "It is disappointing, but I will not give up and will not stop fighting."
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