Joe Manchin is ready to speed up a bipartisan deal to combat election subversion. His friends in the GOP don’t share his sense of urgency.
Manchin wants to get what’s known in the Capitol as a “framework” as soon as this week to reform the 135-year-old law that allies of Donald Trump seized on in their bid to undercut the former president’s 2020 loss. The West Virginia centrist, often knocked by fellow Democrats as an impediment to progress, has plenty of willing Republican partners in that effort — they just see Manchin’s timeline as too ambitious.
“Take a look at the length of time for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Everybody thinks it’s going to get done in a week or two. But that took months,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “We’re still weeks into a process of discovery and scoping. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re looking at a May, June timeframe before we have a consensus work product.”
Tillis and Manchin are two of 16 senators who hope to reach an agreement designed to prevent a future Jan. 6-style insurrection and change the 1887 Electoral Count Act. The group agrees on its broad goals, chiefly making it harder for members of Congress to challenge election results and clarifying the vice president has only a symbolic role in determining the outcome. But there’s a ton of work left to do and an ongoing debate over how comprehensive or narrow the effort should be….
A lengthy negotiation is “likely, but not surprising. Because once you start talking about the issues, it’s complicated,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), another member of the bipartisan election subversion group.
What’s more, Republicans are already grousing that Democrats are trying to shoehorn in changes not directly related to the Electoral Count Act.
A GOP aide familiar with the talks said that “Democrats keep trying to push the envelope and talk about challenging state election laws in federal courts” by establishing a new formal pathway to bring those suits. The aide said that dynamic could prevent the bill from getting the 60 votes it needs to advance.
Several senators said in response that there’s plenty of proposals being batted around and that nothing is finalized.