John,
Last night, Senate Republicans blocked the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act using the filibuster, an outdated Senate rule that functionally requires a 60 vote supermajority to pass legislation.
Senate Democrats then proposed a rules change, to allow this bill to pass using a simple majority vote—a change that has been made hundreds of times in the past, including as recently in December to increase the debt ceiling.
Unfortunately, while 48 senators stood up for voting rights, every Republican and Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema stood in the way of a democracy that works for all of us.
This is incredibly disappointing and disheartening. But it’s not a defeat. Millions of Americans called for action on voting rights, and 48 senators heeded the call to preserve our democracy. We know that when transformative legislation like this has passed in the past, it is often only after being blocked by the filibuster, which has a history of being used again and again to block civil rights bills.
We are going to continue the fight for voting rights and democracy reform, because it is urgent. We believe in a democracy where all Americans can vote, big money doesn’t dominate our elections, and the will of the voters cannot be overturned—and we know that it’s worth it to fight for as long as it takes.
But yesterday didn’t only bring bad news. Amid the Senate’s dysfunction and failure to act to protect our democracy, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s White House records can be shared with the January 6th Select Committee. This is a huge win for accountability that should not be understated. Trump has repeatedly acted as if he is above the law and sought to block access to his records, from his tax returns to White House visitor logs to his communications on January 6th.
CREW filed an amicus brief laying out the precedent, which allows sitting presidents to assert executive privilege, with former presidents retaining only limited privileges. Fortunately, the Supreme Court followed the precedent and proved that Trump’s stonewalling cannot last forever.
Even amid a setback, there is hope for a better, fairer democracy. Here at CREW, we’re going to keep fighting—and we hope you’ll stay in the fight with us.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW
