Kamala Harris Has a New Target – This Could Change Everything
Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday that she “can’t wait” to vote on ending the “archaic” Senate filibuster. This will allow the Democrats to advance measures faster and protect abortion rights on a federal level. They will also be able to reform the voting legislation.
Harris’s comments were part of her speech at the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting at National Harbor in Maryland. It was there that she called for the support of all Democratic Senate candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.
As she said it would only take two more seats in the Senate for them to be able to codify Roe v. Wade and protect abortion rights. It would also allow them to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Harris said that as the “president of the Senate” and the vice President, she is looking forward to casting the vote that will allow them to break the Senate filibuster.
The filibuster currently allows the minority party to request a 60-vote majority for legislation to pass. The current split of the Senate is 50-50.
During the event, Harris also said that the party currently has “momentum on our side” and this is why it is likely for the Democrats to retain and even “expand” their Senate majority.
Harris also noted that if they lose the Senate majority, it will not only be abortion rights that are on the line, but also “marriage equality” and “contraception.”
However, two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have opposed the elimination of the filibuster rule.
