WaPo on Senators Manchin and Sinema prioritizing the filibuster over election reform:
Democrats’ hopes of finally pushing through voting rights legislation after months of Republican opposition appeared to be fatally wounded Thursday as two Democratic senators announced they would not support changing Senate rules that have long allowed a minority of senators to block legislation.
The fresh statements from Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) came as President Biden traveled to Capitol Hill to deliver a final, forceful appeal for action, putting an exclamation point on their party’s long and so far fruitless effort to counter restrictive Republican-passed state voting laws.
The trip was rendered futile before Biden even set foot in the presidential limousine Thursday when Sinema explained her views in a midday floor speech. Manchin issued a written statement outlining his position shortly after Biden left.