When they appeared, it was to protest the legislation and the Democrats’ image of their opponents as fanatics trying to allow voting restrictions aimed at people of color.
“I’m not a racist,” said South Dakota Republican No. 2 Sen. John Thune.
The standoff has fueled calls for unilateral changes to filibuster rules so Democrats can overpower Republicans’ objections. But at least two Democrats, Ms Sinema and Mr Manchin, have made it clear that they will not do this, even if they support the legislation, a position that has infuriated some of their colleagues.
“If you’re willing to vote for the bill, why waste everyone’s time and not vote for the rule change that will allow us to pass the bill?” asked Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont. “It’s like inviting someone over to lunch, handing out a great spread, and saying, ‘You can’t eat.'”
Mr. Manchin took to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon to defend his position, even as Mr. Biden complained during his White House press conference that Republicans had halted his legislative agenda, including the voting rights measure. The West Virginian said he wholeheartedly supported the bill itself, but not his party’s attempt to change the rules to push it through, which he said amounted to an attempt to “break the rules to change the rules.” .
“I can’t match that,” said Mr. Manchin, adding that scrapping the filibuster “would be the easy way out — it wasn’t supposed to be easy.”
Republicans also pushed back strongly on the effort. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, reiterated his threat that Republicans would use their power to virtually shut down the Senate if Democrats successfully execute what is known as the “nuclear option” and pull out the filibuster.
“The Senate would not be a welcoming place in the nuclear winter,” he warned.