OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Radical left-wing Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer issued an ultimatum to Republicans that he will drastically change Senate rules if Democrats don’t get their way.
Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate, which makes Schumer the majority leader who oversees Senate rules. This majority control is suspected to shift in 2022 if enough Republican voters show up to the polls to oust Democrats.
Liberals are trying to pass a bill called “Freedom to Vote Act,” but fortunately a Republican-led filibuster has blocked the move.
The bill is intended to significantly expand voting access so individuals can vote by mail or vote early. It would also expand voter registration by allowing for “automatic registration” and “same-day registration.”
Republicans have rightly argued the legislation will create a significant risk of voter fraud.
As a result, Democrats have been unable to get the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation.
In an act of desperation, Vice President Kamala Harris warned that Democrats are “not going to give up.”
“We’ve never given up,” Harris said. “Those of us who have fought for the right of every American to express their voice through their vote. We’re going to continue to do the work.”
Schumer sent a letter that he is considering changing the filibuster rules because Republicans have stopped the legislation.
By changing the rules, this would make it possible for the legislation to advance.
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He argued in his letter: “We must adapt. The Senate must evolve, like it has many times before.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has announced that a vote in the Senate will be held on Jan. 17 to change filibuster rules.
Changing the filibuster rules on Jan. 17 will advance legislation on voting rights protections, the majority leader argued.
He also cited Jan. 6 again as a reason for the need of this new legislation that would allegedly protect voting and elections.
“Let me be clear: January 6th was a symptom of a broader illness — an effort to delegitimize our election process, and the Senate must advance systemic democracy reforms to repair our republic or else the events of that day will not be an aberration — they will be the new norm,” Schumer wrote.
However, some Democrats are not fully on board with the idea of changing the filibuster rules, as the Associated Press reported.
Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have warned their party that changes to the Senate’s rules could allow Republicans in the future (if and when they take the majority again) to lower the voting threshold in the Senate and advance bills that the Democrats oppose.
However, Schumer’s letter ended on a determined note to move forward with the vote to change the filibuster rules.
“We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us,” he wrote. “But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.”
