Democrat President Joe Biden’s voting agenda failed in the Senate late on Wednesday night after a bipartisan majority opposed Democrats’ extreme push to use the “nuclear option” and gut the filibuster.
“Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sinema, D-Ariz., joined all Senate Republicans in opposing the attempt to alter the Senate filibuster on party lines, resulting in a 48-52 final tally,” Fox News reported. “That vote followed a failed attempt by Democrats to advance the election bills over the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. All Republicans opposed it.”
Biden immediately released a statement afterward, saying, “I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy.”
“I am disappointed — but I am not deterred,” he claimed. “My Administration will never stop fighting to ensure that the heart and soul of our democracy — the right to vote — is protected at all costs.”
Vice President Kamala Harris issued a scathing statement following the Senate deciding to block Biden’s agenda, claiming, “Senators voted to preserve an arcane Senate rule rather than secure that fundamental freedom.”
“The American people will not forget this moment. Neither will history,” she claimed. “Our Administration will continue to fight to pass federal legislation—and to change Senate rules—to secure the right to vote.”
“The Senate voted tonight to preserve the 60 vote, bipartisan approval for legislation, saving the institution itself,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said in a statement. “Senators Manchin and Sinema demonstrated the courage of their convictions. It was a good and historic night.”
The Senate voted tonight to preserve the 60 vote, bipartisan approval for legislation, saving the institution itself. Senators Manchin and Sinema demonstrated the courage of their convictions. It was a good and historic night.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 20, 2022
The news comes after Biden had his first press conference in months earlier in the day and was grilled by reporters over numerous issues plaguing the country under his administration.
Biden’s failure to pass his voting agenda is just the latest in a long line of failures his administration has suffered in recent months as his approval rating in a left-of-center mainstream poll cratered to 33% last week in a new Quinnipiac University poll.
Biden’s approval rating from Democrats sank by double digits from 87% in November to 75% in the poll. The percentage of Democrats who now disapprove of him doubled from 7% to 14%. Only 1 in 4 Independents approved of Biden’s job performance while only 2% (not a typo) of Republicans approved of Biden’s job performance.
Biden earned bad scores on major issues, including:
- the economy: 34 percent approve, while 57 percent disapprove;
- foreign policy: 35 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove;
- the response to the coronavirus: 39 percent approve, while 55 percent disapprove.
Looking at the poll’s breakdown of racial demographics, the group that least approved of Biden was Hispanics with only 28% approving.
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- Biden Grilled Over If He’s ‘Mentally Fit’ For Office; Ex-Obama Doc Demands Immediate Cognitive Test
This report has been updated to include additional information.