Pressed on why he did not act to end the obstruction if that is the case, the president said: “A successful electoral policy is the art of the possible.”
“We will find out how we can do this and move in the direction of significantly changing abuse of even the obstruction rule first,” said Biden. “He has been abused since the moment he emerged, in an extreme way in the last 20 years. We will deal with the abuse first.”
When Collins noticed that it looked like he was approaching support for the removal of the obstruction, which requires a 60-vote limit to end the debate over the legislation, he replied, “I answered your question.”
Obstruction is a procedural tool that can be used by senators to delay or block voting on legislation or an appointment. It can be used to keep a debate going without interruption indefinitely.
Democrats recently passed several major bills in the House, including voting rights and police reform, but getting the legislation passed in the 50-50 Senate, where some bills require 60 votes to pass, has been an obstacle for them.
‘Abused in a gigantic way’
At the beginning of the press conference, Biden said the obstructionist was being “abused in a gigantic way” and suggested that he “strongly” supports a return to the original process, which would require a senator who wants to block the legislation to keep the floor without taking a break.
He told ABC News earlier this month: “I don’t think you have to remove the obstruction, you have to do what it used to be when I arrived in the Senate in the old days.”
“So you are in favor of this reform? Are you about to bring back the talking obstructionist?” George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked.
“I am. This is what it should be,” replied Biden.
Still, Biden said on Thursday that he has an “open mind” about using obstruction for certain topics, including voting rights, a key legislative priority for him who currently has no votes to pass.
Democratic lawmakers signal determination
“The president understands, as I do, that the maintenance and integrity of our democracy is far more important than any Senate rule,” said Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia who pushed to weaken the obstruction in order to pass a voting rights legislation.
Asked if Biden is acting fast enough to change the obstruction, Warnock replied, “I have full confidence that we will find a way to reduce voting rights. We owe it to the American people.”
Senator Chris Van Hollen, for his part, acknowledged that big changes will not happen overnight.
“This will be an ongoing discussion and process,” said the Maryland Democrat, and mentioned Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. “We need to see if Senator McConnell and the Republicans continue to use this as an obstructionist tactic against common sense and very popular legislation. I see this as a journey. I prefer that we resolve this sooner or later.”
The other Maryland senator, Democrat Ben Cardin, said he is opposed “to the way the Senate is operating today” and that he “will consider all options”.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, was asked whether she was disappointed that Biden was not in favor of lowering the vote limit from 60 to 51.
“The president has made it clear that he understands the obstruction as it is preventing us from doing the job for which we were elected,” she said. “We will continue to talk about what changes will be made. I believe that we need to get rid of the 60 vote limit.”
Asked whether Biden’s agreement with Obama that the obstruction is a relic of Jim Crow helps his cause, she replied, “It is not a question of helping someone’s cause. It is a historic fact.”
“Basically, the Senate is designed to function differently,” said the West Virginian, arguing that the chamber must be deliberative to allow senators a chance to reach consensus. “This was designed to be something different.”
This story has been updated with the reaction of Democratic senators.
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.