President Joe Biden.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
- President Joe Biden, a self-described “institutionalist,” put the Senate on notice Tuesday.
- Biden said the Senate “has been rendered a shell of its former self.”
- He called for an exception for the filibuster, a 60 vote threshold instead of a 51 vote majority.
President Joe Biden, one of the biggest proponents of the US Senate as “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” spoke in some of the harshest terms of his career on its contribution to gridlock in Washington.
“Sadly, the United States Senate, designed to be the world’s greatest deliberative body, has been rendered a shell of its former self,” Biden said Tuesday in his speech from Georgia. “It gives me no satisfaction in saying that as an institutionalist, as a man who was honored to serve in the Senate. But as an institutionalist, I believe the threat to our democracy is so grave, that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills.”
Long cautious about such a move during the 2020 campaign and earlier in his presidency, Biden finally called for removing the filibuster — a 60-vote threshold to move on legislation instead of a 51 vote majority — at least when it comes to voting rights.
“Debate them. Vote. Let the majority prevail,” Biden said. “And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Read the original article on Business Insider 
