Hillary Clinton Calls to Lift Senate Filibuster 'for Constitutional Matters'

During a press conference last week, President Joe Biden told reporters that he has an "open mind" about changing filibuster rules on "certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy", citing "the right to vote" as an example.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called to end a Senate filibuster in order to pass the For the People Act, a bill, related to expanding US voting rights.

The filibuster is a procedural mechanism that allows one or more senators to stop a bill from reaching a vote on the Senate floor. Then, at least 60 senators must approve a cloture motion, which halts debate on the bill, to bring the proposed legislation to a vote.

Speaking on the podcast hosted by the director of communications for her 2016 presidential campaign, Clinton argued that the filibuster "stands in the way of a lot of legislation and whether or not it can be either reformed and amended or eliminated is what we will find out in next weeks".

"It certainly should be lifted for constitutional matters, and I would put election law matters at the top of that list", the former Democratic presidential hopeful added.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington

© AP Photo / Melina Mara

She accused the Republicans of trying "to change the rules to make it harder for people to vote and have their votes counted", something that Clinton described as "a direct constitutional challenge to the rights of citizenship, to the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment, to a long line of cases".

The Democrats tout the For The People Act as a document that expands voting rights, prohibits partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, and implements automatic voter registration.

The bill specifically allows some felons to vote after their sentences are completed, while also promoting "access to voter registration and voting for persons with disabilities and older individuals".

The GOP, in turn, opposes the legislation, claiming that it would take away state control of elections and expose the electoral process to potential fraud.​

Republicans Senator Jerry Moran, for his part, claimed the decision to alter the filibuster is being taken by its opponents to make it easier to pass the voting rights legislation, which he dubbed a "monstrous bill" that he claimed would be "very damning to democracy".

The Democrats have, meanwhile, stressed that passing the For The People Act in the Senate remains their top priority, with Senator Chuck Schumer pointing out that "S.1 [the voting rights bill] will pass this body".