Videos from 2005 and 2019 show Joe Biden saying getting rid of Senate filibuster is 'arrogance of power' after he tells Georgia crowd on Tuesday it's time get rid of it to push through voting reform
President Joe Biden on Tuesday gave his strongest denouncement yet of the Senate filibuster - calling for its abolition so that the voting reforms he wants can be passed, despite having defended the vote-blocking system in 2005 and 2019.
The president, speaking at a rally in Georgia, told the crowd that if the Senate does not at least agree to debate the voting bills, 'we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this.'
The filibuster is a way of blocking a vote - something that was rarely done in previous decades but has become increasingly frequently used. For example, to block gun reform in 2013 after the Sandy Hook shooting.
Under the arrangement, there must be 60 votes to end a debate and proceed to a vote - so without the 60 votes, the bill can never be passed. The Senate is currently split with 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, as the two independents caucus with the Democratic Party.
Biden, as a senator, was previously in favor of the system, resurfaced videos show.
'At its core, the filibuster is not about stopping a nominee or a bill, it's about compromise and moderation,' he declared in 2005.
Joe Biden is seen on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, calling for an end to the filibuster so that voting reform can be passed
'This nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power.
'It is a fundamental power grab by the majority party, propelled by its extreme right and designed to change the reading of the Constitution, particularly as it relates to individual rights and property rights.
'It is nothing more or nothing less.'
Biden continued: 'The nuclear option extinguishes the power of independents and moderates in the Senate. That's it, they're done.
'Moderates are important if you need to get to 60 votes to satisfy cloture; they are much less so if you only need 50 votes.'
He added: 'We have been through these periods before in American history but never, to the best of my knowledge, has any party been so bold as to fundamentally attempt to change the structure of this body.
'What shortsightedness, and what a price history will exact on those who support this radical move.'
He also threatened to use the filibuster in the same year, when the Senate was considering then-President George W. Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court.
'If he really believes that reapportionment is a questionable decision … then clearly, clearly, you'll find a lot of people, including me, willing to do whatever they can to keep him off the court,' Biden said at the time, adding: 'That would include a filibuster, if need be.'
He also joined in the filibuster of George W. Bush's energy bill in 2003, and George H.W. Bush's effort to cut the tax on capital gains in order to stimulate the U.S. economy.
In 2019, Biden said that his views on the value of the filibuster hadn't changed.
'Ending the filibuster is a very dangerous thing to do, because it has been used by progressives our whole time to make sure that we did not get rolled over,' he said at the time, speaking at the Iowa state fair as a candidate for the presidency.
Yet as president, Biden's views have evolved - as did Barack Obama's during his presidency.
Obama was in favor of the filibuster until his gun control bill following the Sandy Hook shooting was blocked.
Biden is seen in September 2019 at the Iowa State Fair, when he said removing the filibuster was 'dangerous'
In March 2021, Biden said he would support reinstating a talking filibuster, which requires senators to continuously hold the floor and make speeches if they want to block a bill.
In October, Biden said he backed 'fundamentally altering' the filibuster to make progress on certain issues.
And by December, he said he'd be willing to consider a carveout to the filibuster to pass a voting rights bill.
On Tuesday, he spoke just hours after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said again that he would not back removing the filibuster to pass voting rights, and amid Republican claims Democrats want to federalize elections.
'I have been having these quiet conversations with members of Congress for the last two months,' Biden said of his work on voting rights.
And then he slammed the podium as the crowd cheered, declaring: 'I'm tired of being quiet!'
He attacked the Senate, an institute he served in for 36 years.
'Sadly, the United States Senate designed to be the world's greatest deliberative body, has been rendered a shell of its former self,' he said.
'I believe the threat to democracy is so great that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills. Debate them, vote, let the majority prevail.
'And at that very minute it was blocked, we had no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this,' Biden said.
The crowd of a few hundred burst into applause at his words.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to try and push a rules change but it's unclear how his move would succeed without all 50 Democratic senators.
Biden's speech on Tuesday may help convince some moderates in the Senate to change the rules; he himself cannot do it alone.
Yet Sens. Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have repeatedly stressed the need to preserve the filibuster, even in recent weeks.
With the Senate evenly balanced, their opposition is likely to signify the end of any hope Biden may have of ending the filibuster.
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