(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 03: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) holds a news conference about state and local tax (SALT) deductions as part of the Build Back Better reconciliation legislation at the U.S. Capitol on November 03, 2021 in Washington, DC. Sanders and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) were critical of a reported deal struck among Democratic negotiators to remove the cap on federal tax deductions for paid state and local taxes for five years. “As a result, the top 1% would pay lower taxes after passage of the Build Back Better plan than they did after the Trump tax cut in 2017. This is beyond unacceptable,” Sanders said.
Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema stand by their decision not to support a change in the Senate's voting rights rule despite Sen. Bernie Sander's criticisms.
Manchin said that eliminating the filibuster could be seen as the easy way out. That's why he cannot support his fellow Democrats.
Sinema, on the other hand, said that eliminating the filibuster would result in the deepening of divisions and more risks to other relevant matters.
Sen. Bernie Sanders furious at Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema
But Sanders was unable to hide his disappointment with his fellow Democrats and suggested that Manchin and Sinema wasted five months by getting into discussions about the voting rights legislation but refusing to get on board in the end.
"It's not just this vote. These are people who I think have undermined the president of the United States. They have forced us to have five months of discussions that have gone absolutely nowhere. I think it's up to the people in their own states," Sanders said via the Huffington Post.
Joe Biden disappointed by the Senate vote
Following Manchin and Sinema's shock decision, their fellow Democrats vowed not to support their reelection. Some of them also ended up blaming the moderates for their failure to get things done.
According to CNN, Joe Biden was profoundly disappointed by the Senate vote, but he vowed to continue fighting for America's right to vote.
Martin Luther King III slams Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema
Even Martin Luther King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, accused Manchin and Sinema of letting the country and its people down.
He also said that Manchin and Sinema were given countless opportunities to protect the people's right to vote, but they ignored the call of millions of Americans who are aware that there is a need to restore the Voting Rights Act for the sake of the country's democracy.
King III also vowed to continue fighting for voting rights legislation regardless of how many other roadblocks they still needed to face.
Joe Manchin explains why he can't support voting rights legislation
In June, Manchin explained why he's refusing to support the voting rights legislation by saying that American democracy shouldn't be about the party or politics.
Manchin also mentioned all the things that he did for West Virginians regarding their right to vote. But over the years, the senator also noticed how Americans' fundamental right to vote has become overly politicized.
In the end, the West Virginia senator said that congressional action on federal voting right legislation must be the result of both parties coming together and finding a way forward, according to the West Virginia Gazette.
Other than voting rights legislation, Manchin and Sinema are also opposed to Biden's Build Back Better bill. But even if this is the case, Democrats are reportedly willing to make certain adjustments to have the two senators on board.
In fact, they are currently figuring out ways to make the Build Back Better bill more Manchin-friendly. Biden also said he understands that the entire account may not push forward, but certain components that Manchin previously agreed with could still be a go.
Related Article: Democrats Plan To Create a More Joe Manchin-Friendly Build Back Better Act That the Senator Could Support
