Jim Clyburn launches scathing attack on Joe Manchin over filibuster

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has been pleading with his fellow Democrats for bipartisanship by opposing killing the filibuster — and his colleagues have had enough.

Top-ranking Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., went after Manchin in an interview on Thursday about the Democrats' voting rights bill. Manchin is the only Democratic senator not co-sponsoring the For the People Act, which Democrats say can only pass if filibuster rules change.

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"I’m insulted when he tells me that it’s more important to maintain a relationship with the minority in the U.S. Senate than it is for you to maintain a relationship with the minority of voters in America," Clyburn told The Huffington Post. "That’s insulting to me."

Clyburn implied the Democrats may lose their Senate majority over Manchin.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., adjusts his face mask as he arrives for votes on Biden administration nominees, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"Since when do their rights take precedence over your fellow Democrat [Sen. Raphael] Warnock, who saw his state just pass laws to keep him from getting reelected?" Clyburn said. "And you’re going to say it’s more important for you to protect 50 Republicans in the Senate than for you to protect your fellow Democrat’s seat in Georgia. That’s a bunch of crap."

"The issue of civil rights and voting rights, these constitutional issues, should never be sacrificed on the altar of the filibuster," Clyburn continued. "I’ve been saying that for a long time."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that President Biden is open to dividing Democrats' controversial election bill into multiple parts after Manchin said he didn't think Congress should pass the entire thing at once.

Manchin released a statement saying that he supports some of the bill but that Congress would risk decreasing Americans' trust in elections by passing the House or Senate versions of the bill along party lines.

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"America's declining trust in the government and each other makes it harder to solve key problems," Manchin said. "That trust will continue to diminish unless we, as members of Congress, transcend partisanship to strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights, implementing commonsense election security reforms, and making our campaign finance system more transparent."

"Pushing through legislation of this magnitude on a partisan basis may garner short-term benefits, but will inevitably only exacerbate the distrust that millions of Americans harbor against the U.S. government," he added. 

Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.