President Joe Biden is set to give a speech today backing changes to Senate filibuster rules that have stalled voting rights legislation.
In the speech, Biden will say it’s time to choose “democracy over autocracy”, according to reports.
However, the speech is being boycotted by some civil rights groups that are accusing the White House of inaction.
A White House official, previewing the speech on the condition of anonymity, said Biden would voice support for changing the Senate filibuster rules only to ensure the right to vote is defended.
Filibuster rules require 60 votes to advance most legislation, which is a threshold Senate Democrats can’t meet on their own with their thin Senate majority.
Republicans unanimously oppose the voting rights measures, and not all Democrats are fully on board with changing the filibuster.
Biden’s speech will come as he held steady in the latest approval rating polls, according to political data website FiveThirtyEight.
Read our Joe Biden speech live blog for the latest news and updates…
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Was Joe Biden in the military?
President Biden was not in the military and did not serve in war.
He received five student draft deferments due to medical exceptions during his time as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware, and at Syracuse University, where he studied Law.
During a physical assessment in April 1968, he was classified as I-Y, which meant he could only be drafted in the case of a national emergency.
During the Obama administration where Biden served as Vice President, a spokesperson said Biden didn’t serve as he was “disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.”
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Protestors now at the White House
Protesters, who are currently outside the White House, are demanding that Biden close Guantanamo.
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Sen Manchin on the filibuster
According to CNN, Senator Joe Manchin was asked if there’s anything President Biden could say during his voting rights speech to change the senator’s mind on “weakening the legislative filibuster.”
Sen Manchin said, “We need some good rule changes to make the place work better, but getting rid of the filibuster doesn’t make it work better.”
“What they know about the filibuster is basically what Bob Byrd has educated people on over the years and the filibuster is what makes the Senate hopefully work when it’s supposed to work,” Manchin said.
“We need some good rules changes and we can do that together. But you change the rules with two-thirds of the people that are present, so it’s Democrats, Republicans changing the rules to make the place work better getting rid of the filibuster does not make it work better.”
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Is Jen Psaki leaving the White House?
In May 2021, Psaki confirmed she intended on leaving the White House in 2022.
Speaking on The Axe Files podcast, Psaki said: “I think it’s going to be time for somebody else to have this job, in a year from now or about a year from now.”
The communications expert told CNN’s David Axelrod the Biden administration was made aware of this beforehand.
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What did Biden say on January 6?
In one of his most recent speeches before his Atlanta remarks scheduled for Tuesday, Biden presented a speech in commemoration of the one year anniversary of the US Capitol riots on Thursday, January 6, 2022.
During his speech, Biden said: “I will not shrink from it either. I will stand in this breach. I will defend this nation.”
He continued: “I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy.”
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‘A turning point’
Ahead of his administration’s Atlanta college stops, President Biden’s team shared a prepared statement.
The statement read: “The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation.”
“Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice? I know where I stand,” Biden’s statement said.
The President is scheduled to speak in Georgia on Tuesday.
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What is President Biden’s approval rating?
According to FiveThirtyEight, President Biden’s approval rating is holding fairly steady.
As of Tuesday, the site reported that, after compiling all polls, his approval rating sat at 43 percent.
His disapproval rating was listed at 51.6 percent on the site.
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‘Defend the right to vote’
Before his speech on Tuesday, President Biden took to Twitter and shared another comment about voting rights.
“History has never been kind to those who have sided with voter suppression over voting rights,” he wrote.
“And it will not be kind to those who fail to defend the right to vote. Congress must debate and vote on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
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Will Kamala Harris appear?
CNN reported that both President Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to make remarks on voting rights this afternoon in Atlanta ahead of Martin Luther King Jr Day.
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‘The road ahead’
Ahead of the speech on Tuesday, President Biden took to Twitter on Monday to talk about his upcoming remarks.
“January 6, 2021 made it clear: there is a dagger at the throat of our democracy,” Biden wrote.
“Tomorrow, I’m headed to Atlanta where I will discuss the road ahead in our fight for voting rights.”
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Biden’s support
A White House official, previewing the speech on the condition of anonymity, said Biden would voice support for changing the Senate filibuster rules only to ensure the right to vote is defended during his speech on Tuesday.
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Where is Biden speaking?
President Biden will give the speech in Atlanta, Georgia.
He is set to visit Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the late Rev Martin Luther King Jr used to preach, and will place a wreath at the crypt of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.
