President Biden ‘s calls for the Senate to pass aggressive background check bills and a ban on assault weapons face an uphill battle with a …
President Biden ‘s calls for the Senate to pass aggressive background check bills and a ban on assault weapons face an uphill battle with a key Democrat already voicing disapproval. Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said Tuesday he can’t support the pair of Biden-backed background check bills that the House already passed. « No, not at all, » Manchin told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol when asked if he could vote in favor of the House legislation. Passing gun control legislation has been notoriously tough in the Senate, where it takes 60 votes to get things done as long as the legislative filibuster is in place. While progressives are putting tremendous pressure on Democrats to abolish the filibuster to pass big reforms with a simple majority, it was clear Tuesday that Biden and the 50 members of the Democratic caucus were not unified on how best to proceed on guns. Biden Tuesday called on the Senate to pass an assault weapons ban and two expanded gun background check bills the House passed earlier this month.
