Biden calls for changing Senate rules to allow voting bills to pass

President Joe Biden has called for a historic change to Senate rules as he seeks to pass an overhaul of the US' election laws.

Speaking in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, Biden said he supported the changes which would allow federal voting rights legislation to pass via a simple majority. Presently, a majority of 60% is needed to pass most legislation in the Senate.

“Today, I’m making it clear, in order to protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules whichever way they need to be changed to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights,” said the Democratic president.

Given the upper chamber of Congress split 50-50 between the two parties, Biden's election plans are almost unlikely to pass unless there is a major change to the so-called filibuster rule.

“Sadly, the US Senate, designed to be the world’s greatest deliberative body, has been rendered a shell of its former self. It gives me no satisfaction in saying that as an institutionalist, as a man who was honored to serve in the Senate,” Biden said. “But as an institutionalist, I believe the threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills."

“Debate them, vote, let the majority prevail,” he added. “And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this.”

Meanwhile, analysts argue that such a change is not likely as it would require the support of every Democrat in the Senate as well as the tie-breaking vote of the vice-president.

Biden urged the Senate to advance two pieces of federal voting rights legislation: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

He said the two measures are remedies to efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to pass bills making it harder for certain groups to vote.

“I’ve been having these quiet conversations with members of Congress for the last two months. I’m tired of being quiet,” Biden said, pounding the lectern for emphasis.

He called on Republicans to choose which side of history they want to be on, as he compared civil rights heroes with the country's most ardent white supremacists.

"Do you want to be on the side of Martin Luther King or George Wallace?" Biden asked, referring to the segregationist former Alabama governor.

Trump blasts GOP senator who called 2020 election 'fair'

Donald Trump has blasted Republican Senator Mike Rounds after the South Dakota lawmaker rejected Trump’s claims about the outcome of the disputed 2020 presidential election.

Former president Donald Trump claims that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats through voter fraud, in spite of investigations that found no supporting evidence.

Since then, Republican lawmakers in 19 states have passed dozens of laws making it more difficult to vote. Critics argue these measures target minorities, who vote in greater proportions for Democrats.

Following Biden's speech, Republicans criticized his proposal describing it as overreach.

"What the Democrats have coined a 'voting rights' bill is really just a partisan, political power grab. And now they want to eliminate the filibuster in order to advance this terrible legislation, which would only compound confusion in our election process," Senator Mike Crapo said.

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