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President Donald Trump praised West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin for refusing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign.
Trump took to his Truth Social account to congratulate Manchin on his decision.
“Congratulations to Senator Joe Manchin for not endorsing Radical Kamala Harris because of her DEATH WISH for the Filibuster and the Rule of Law,” Trump wrote.
“Joe knows that only the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, can protect our Country, our People, and Make America Great Again!” he added.
Manchin told Fox News on Tuesday that he is not endorsing her over the vice president’s efforts to end the Senate filibuster in order to advance expanded abortion protections.
“I’ve been very, very, very clear on how strongly I believe that when you go down that slippery path, you don’t just do it for one issue,” Manchin stated.
Manchin also released a statement on Tuesday regarding the importance of the filibuster.
“This threshold stabilizes our democracy, promotes bipartisan cooperation and protects our nation from partisan whiplash and dysfunction. I have always said: ‘if you can’t change your mind, you can’t change anything’ and I am hopeful that the Vice President remains open to doing just that.”
The Senate filibuster requires at least 60 of the chamber’s 100 senators to support most measures for them to move forward for a vote. The required supermajority has helped keep both parties from making sweeping changes with only a simple majority.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, downplayed the filibuster change discussion. He has reportedly told media that the issue will not be up for discussion until the next session of Congress.
Harris told Wisconsin Public Radio (NPR) on Tuesday that, “I think we should end the filibuster for Roe.”
The call for ending the filibuster has been on the left’s agenda since the Obama administration when Democrats controlled the Senate.
President Joe Biden briefly sought to make a filibuster change, but the move quickly ended after both Manchin and then-Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona rejected the effort (Sinema has since changed to an Independent and is not running for reelection.). Manchin is also not seeking reelection to his Senate seat.