Transcripts for MSNBC Hallie Jackson Reports 20220111 20:38:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
passionate as a combination of his july speech and senator warnock, our senator from georgia who gave a very passionate speak talking about modifying the filibuster, if he gave that kind of passionate speech to the caucus, following it up with actions, with some carrots and some sticks. then we might get the legislation we need, but that s what we need to see after he talks today. we know not one republican in the senate is expected to vote to change those rules to pave the way for election reform vote. but democrats are not totally united, with senator manchin outstanding. i want to play what he said this morning about the rules change. we need good rules changes and we can do that together, but you range the rules with two thirds of the people that are present. so if democrats or republicans change the rules to make the place work better. getting rid of the filibuster doesn t make it work better. he says getting rid of the filibuster doesn t make this place work better, the mes
what he called it, why he s here today. let s hear how the president framed this fight. this is one of those defining moments, it really is. people are going to be judged. where were they before and where were they after the vote? history is going to judge it. it s that consequential. the risk is making sure people understand just how important this is. now, i talked about the sort of dynamics in insenate. sahil can talk more about that. just before i came up to talk with you, i had a chance to speak with doug jones, former senator from the state of alabama. he represented a very red state in the senate, very recently, and he said yes, he knows the odds are long in the senate, but he thinks what the president is doing here today is so critical. jones also saying he hasn t given up on senator joe manchin. that s what voting rights advocates and what the white house is hoping for.
you know, we don t want the president to come here unless he has a clear plan to getting voting legislation passed, and it doesn t appear that that is what the president is going to present today. he s here to lay out a vision, but not a plan. and these voting rights groups want to see a plan that can bring immediate action. sahil, let me go to you. one of the things mike talked about was this idea that maybe in the eyes of some, more public pressure on people like senator joe manchin could make a difference, but senator schumer is not waiting for that, he s saying as early as tomorrow, we re going to bring this up. talk to me about the dynamics at play on capitol hill. absolutely, hallie. senator schumer, the majority leader, signaling as soon as tomorrow he could bring up voting rights legislation to the floor of? the that. that would be a trigger point to a rules change. you call it a piece of business for a vote.
it gets filibustered and you appeal to the chair. if you get 51 votes, you can set a new precedent and change the rules permanently. that s what democrats want to do in order to get a vote on voting rights legislation. it does not look good for democrats at all. they have a viable path to 48 votes in the senate at this moment for a major rules change using the nuclear option. they don t have what seems like a viable path to move the other two hold-outs, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. there s been a year of public pressure on them. democrats have not let up, activists have not let up. some of them fault president biden for not twisting arms earlier, for not making this a tier one issue at the start of 2021, and some fear it s too late, but it s not clear what if anything he can do to move those two. they re very, very resistant, actively resistant to changing rules. there is some talk about potential rule changes that would go short of a filibuster. things manchin has supported,