Manchin again says he is AGAINST Senate rule changes without Republicans

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said pointedly Tuesday that ending the legislative filibuster won't make the Senate work better – just as President Joe Biden flew to Georgia to demand changes in Senate rules to push through voting rights legislation.  

'We need some good rules changes to make the place work better. But getting rid of the filibuster doesn’t make it work better,' Manchin told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday morning. 

He has allowed he might be open to a formal rules change – based on two-thirds of those voting present to do so. He called that a case of 'Democrats, Republicans changing the rules to make the place work better. Getting rid of the filibuster doesn’t make it work better,' he underlined.

Manchin made his comments just as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has leveled the threat of pushing through a rules change on just such a party-line vote. But Schumer cannot do so without buy-in from all 50 members of his caucus, including Manchin.  

 Without Manchin, such an effort would fail. Manchin has also been negotiating with Republicans on voting rights legislation, but there have been no indications to date there is a coalition of 60 including Republicans who would brake with their own leadership to push through the kind of changes Democratic leaders are pushing for. 

His own defense of the status quo comes as Biden prepares to turn up the heat on opponents of voting rights legislation. His remarks echo the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s, where opponents of reform deployed the filibuster to major effect. 

'The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation. Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice?,' Biden planned to say, according to excerpts released from the White House.

'I know where I stand. I will not yield. I will not flinch. I will defend your right to vote and our democracy against all enemies foreign and domestic. And so the question is where will the institution of United States Senate stand?,' Biden was set to ask. 

Manchin's comments came after comments Monday suggesting he has not dropped his opposition to ditching the filibuster. He did so by implying the filibuster had always been part of the Senate, when it wasn't used for the first decades of the Senate and filibuster rules have been changed on several occasions.

Democrats have been trying to win over the West Virginia senator as part of a push to change the rules to pass voting rights legislation.

But Manchin, whose opposition doomed Biden's massive Build Back Better spending plans, signaled he remained opposed.

He told Congressional reporters that the filibuster was 'the tradition of the Senate here in 232 years now ... '

'We need to be very cautious what we do. 

'I'm hoping that we can come to an agreement to fix things. Every American has the right to vote and should be protected.' 

'That's what we've always had for 232 years. That's what makes us different than any place else in the world.'

Adam Jentleson, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, noted in response to Manchin: 'This is false. The filibuster as we know it did not exist in the early Senate. The Framers favored majority rule and created rules to allow senators to cut off debate when it became obstructionist. The Senate was majority-rule well into the latter half of the 20th century.'  

Democrats' efforts to push through legislation have been stalled by the filibuster and rules that require 60 senators to back most bills, enabling a Republican minority to block their push for voter protections.

They face a critical week as Chuck Schumer, their leader in the Senate, has set January 17 - Martin Luther King Day - as the deadline for passing the legislation. 

Manchin and Krysten Sinema, who both represent more conservative states, have said they want to keep the filibuster for the way it promotes bipartisanship.

As a result, party leaders have spared no effort in trying to woo them.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and even talk show host Oprah Winfrey have called Manchin as part of their campaign to persuade him to support reforms to the filibuster or a carveout on this one issue.  

The push will take on added momentum on Tuesday when Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Atlanta to hit back at what they see as Republican efforts to restrict voting access. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden planned to push through voting rights legislation.

'His plan is to sign voting rights legislation into law. That requires a majority of senators to support it ... if there are changes to the Senate rules, which is something the President has expressed an openness to,' she said.

Georgia is a battleground state, where Democrats won two Senate seats in January 2021.

Atlanta was also the home of Martin Luther King, and Psaki said it was a 'place with profound civil rights history.'

She confirmed that the president would back changing Senate rules, which currently require 60 senators to back most legislation, enabling a Republican minority to block voting rights bills. 

'The president will forcefully advocate for protecting the most bedrock American rights, the right to vote and have your voice counted in a free, fair and secure election that is not tainted, tainted, tainted by partisan manipulation,' she said. 

Democrats face a critical week as Chuck Schumer, their leader in the Senate, has set January 17 - Martin Luther King Day - as the deadline for passing the legislation.

But Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, who represent more conservative

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