More voters oppose a Democratic-led push to eliminate the legislative filibuster than support it.
Asked if they “favor or oppose the plan to change the rules and eliminate the filibuster,” 49% of voters said they opposed the plan to eliminate the filibuster. Only 41% of respondents said they favor the idea. Another 11% said they were unsure, according to a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday.
Centrist Democrats such as West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin have come under increased pressure to agree to an end to the legislative procedure, with the evenly split Senate blocking much of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda that currently would need the support of 60 senators to pass. But Manchin has so far resisted those calls, instead insisting that Republicans and Democrats work to come to bipartisan compromises.
“That means the big guy doesn’t pick on the little guy,” Manchin said. “I’ve been in the minority. I’ve been in the majority. So all I’m trying to protect is basically civility but making it work.”
MANCHIN UNDER PRESSURE TO CAVE ON FILIBUSTER
But the stance leaves Manchin on the outside of the majority of his party, with the poll finding that 65% of Democrats are in favor of eliminating the filibuster. Meanwhile, only 24% of Republicans and 29% of independents feel the same way.
The poll also found that a majority of voters, with 67%, agree that it is more important to “preserve our constitutional system of checks and balances” than for the government to “operate efficiently.” That majority even featured a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, with 53% of Democrats agreeing it was more important to maintain checks and balances.
Biden has yet to make his stance on the filibuster completely clear. While the president was a vocal supporter of the procedure during his long Senate career, he has appeared open to at least considering its elimination since becoming president.
During his first press conference as president, Biden said the filibuster was “being abused in a gigantic way,” but he stopped short of calling for its elimination.
During an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos earlier this month, Biden also signaled support for efforts to reform the filibuster. One way to accomplish that, Biden argued, would be to implement a “talking filibuster” that would force lawmakers to speak for the duration of the filibuster effort.
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The poll was conducted between March 28-29, surveying 1,000 likely voters with a margin of error of 3 points.
