Even after meeting with civil rights groups for a discussion, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he won’t budge on his democrat voting bill opposition.
As previously reported by Human Events News, Manchin said he will vote against the election reform bill pushed by his colleagues.
Manchin said that because the bill, called the “For the People Act,” was forced through via the reconciliation process, it will further deepen the existing divides in Congress and the country as a whole.
“I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act,” he wrote.
Manchin also reaffirmed that he won’t vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.
“There was nothing basically for or against...basically everyone’s position was discussed,” Manchin said after meeting with NAACP President Derrick Johnson, Al Sharpton, National Urban League president Marc Morial and others, per the Epoch Times.
When asked whether he changed his mind on supporting the “For the People Act,” he said, “no, I don’t think anybody changed positions on that.”
The bill, passed in the House along party lines, would limit gerrymandering, change campaign finance rules and create new ethics rules for some federal officials.
“I’m very honored that we all got the chance to speak, listen to each other. That’s really what it’s about. We learned and listened,” Manchin said. “We had a constructive conversation. I think everybody pretty much knows the importance of what we’re doing. And I think I’m very much concerned about our democracy, protecting the people’s voting rights.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Trump praised Manchin for “doing the right thing.”
“He’s doing the right thing and it’s a very important thing,” he said. “Otherwise you’re going to be packing the court. You’re going to be doing all sorts of very, very bad things that were unthinkable and were never even brought up during the election. Nobody brought this stuff up.”
