Manchin says he won't endorse Harris over abortion filibuster carveout - ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
"Shame on her," Manchin told CNN.
ByTal Axelrod, Arthur Jones II, and Allison PecorinSeptember 24, 2024, 5:44 PM
Outgoing West Virginia Independent Sen. Joe Manchin said Tuesday he won't back Vice President Kamala Harris' White House bid after she came out in favor of changing Senate rules to pass abortion protection laws.
"I'm not endorsing her," Manchin told reporters Tuesday.
Earlier, Manchin was more vociferous about Harris' announcement that she'd be in favor of scrapping the chamber's 60-vote filibuster to pass a law reviving the abortion protections that existed under Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that was scrapped in 2022.
"Shame on her," Manchin, who is retiring and left the Democratic Party earlier this year, told CNN. "She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It's the only thing that keeps us talking and working together."
Outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., another retiring Democrat-turned-independent and filibuster defender, also panned the idea, saying it would open the door to further restrictions by a future Republican Senate majority.
"To state the supremely obvious, eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v Wade also enables a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide," Sinema posted on X. "What an absolutely terrible, shortsighted idea."
Harris, who along with President Joe Biden, had supported changing Senate rules to help restore Roe v. Wade's protections, which allow abortions until a fetus is viable. She reiterated her stance in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.
"I've been very clear: I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,' Harris said. "Fifty-one votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do."
Harris' comments come as she pivots to the center to win over undecided voters, but abortion remains a key issue that fires up the Democratic base and helped the vice president find her footing in office. She has been particularly vocal on the issue after reports of two Georgia women's deaths seemingly due to delayed treatment after undergoing medication abortions.
Still, it's unclear if Democrats would have the votes to pass any abortion protections, as their 51-49 majority hangs by a thread this November due to a formidable map that has them defending seats in several purple states and the red states of Montana and Ohio.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was circumspect on what kind of legislation Democrats would push, only saying Tuesday that "it's something our caucus will discuss in the next session of Congress."
Former President Donald Trump celebrated Manchin's saying he wouldn't endorse Harris.
"Congratulations to Senator Joe Manchin for not endorsing Radical Kamala Harris because of her DEATH WISH for the Filibuster and the Rule of Law. Joe knows that only the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, can protect our Country, our People, and Make America Great Again," Trump posted on his social media platform.
ABC News' Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
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Manchin now has Trump praising him. His parents must be so proud.
Will she go the border tomorrow, John?
I can't.
I'm hoping she does it. It will put the focus on the border. She is an absolute loser on that issue.
Another example of Democratic leadership lacking the ability to engage in second order thinking. You'd think, for starters, if they actually believed their own theories about Trump, that the last thing they'd ever want to do is weaken the powers of congress to oppose a President's agenda. But they can't ever seem to recognize that their own tactics will inevitably used against them and sometime in the future they'll be in the minority. It's like they are little kids who think because it's sunny today that it will be sunny everyday.
If Democratic leaders actually cared about access to abortion, this would be the last policy a fully mentally developed Democratic Senator capable of foresight would ever support. Taking away the filibuster means abortion can be restricted nationwide by a President, a margin of one in the House and a tie in the Senate.
Can you imagine a 50-50 Senate where a VP Walz comes in to cast the deciding vote on a national abortion bill, only to be followed by Republicans turning it right back if they get the majority. The country will just swing back and forth depending on who had a simple majority.
There is a reason that a 60-vote requirement in the Senate has served the nation for so long. It forces debate and compromise and a real consensus.
That worked until the Republican Party lost its mind around 20 years ago.
“To state the supremely obvious, eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v Wade also enables a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide," Sinema posted on X.”
She’s right. Why isn’t harris smart enough to see that?
”"I've been very clear: I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,' Harris said. "Fifty-one votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do."”
yet she was all for the vaccine mandates, except for illegals.
Sinema is so much more rational than most Democrats. No wonder they drove her out of the party.
I strongly support the right to abortion and we need the filibuster in the senate. It is a very important check.
Here's Kamala promising to protect the filibuster in 2017. Her word is meaningless.
That letter sums up the difference between Republicans and Democrats quite nicely.
When Trump is President, dozens of Republicans sign a bi-partisan letter with Democrats to protect the filibuster. When Biden becomes President, every Democrat but Manchin who signed the letter voted to end the filibuster.