by Casey Harper
President Joe Biden called on Congress Thursday to remove the filibuster and pass a federal law to “codify Roe v. Wade “after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled there was no Constitutional right to an abortion last week.
Biden previously called for a similar removal of the filibuster to push through voting rights legislation, but Congress did not follow suit.
“The most important thing to be clear about is I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law,” Biden said. “And the way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that, and if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights, it should be … we provide an exception for this … require an exception to the filibuster for this action.”
The filibuster in the evenly divided U.S. Senate requires a 60-vote majority to move legislation.
Biden’s comments came at a news conference during his visit to Spain Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, sending the issue to the states to decide their respective abortion laws.
“I’m going to do everything in my power I legally can do in terms of protecting abortion as well as pushing Congress and the public,” Biden said.
Republicans and some Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have opposed ending the filibuster.
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Casey Harper is a Senior Reporter for the Washington, D.C. Bureau. He previously worked for The Daily Caller, The Hill, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Casey’s work has also appeared in Fox News, Fox Business, and USA Today.
