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It looks like the Freedom to Vote Act will be blocked by Senate Republicans, but the White House has issued a statement of administration policy formally recommending the bill’s passage.

“Democracy is in peril, here, in America. The right to vote – a sacred right in this country – is under assault,” the new statement from the Office of Management and Budget says.

“The Freedom to Vote Act would set common-sense national baselines for voting in Federal elections. It would reform redistricting to curtail the partisan gerrymandering that distorts our democracy. It would modernize our election systems, protect election workers, and make the process more secure against efforts to undermine the will of the people.”

Applauding the Senate Democrats who have worked to craft the legislation, the statement adds, “As the bill moves forward, the Administration will continue to work with Congress to ensure that it achieves lasting reform consistent with Congress’ broad constitutional authority to strengthen our democracy.”

The vote is still open, but Republicans now have the votes to block Democrats’ Freedom to Vote Act from advancing.

Democrats need 60 votes to start debate on the bill, but as of now, 42 Republicans have already voted against doing so.

The vote remains open, so the result is not yet official, but it appears like another Democratic voting rights bill has become a victim of the Senate filibuster.

As the Senate holds a procedural vote on the Freedom to Vote Act, Joe Biden has issued a statement imploring the upper chamber to advance the voting rights bill.

“The United States Senate needs to act to protect the sacred constitutional right to vote, which is under unrelenting assault by proponents of the Big Lie and Republican Governors, Secretaries of State, Attorneys-General, and state legislatures across the nation,” the president said in a new statement.

“It is urgent. Democracy – the very soul of America – is at stake.”

The vote is expected to fail because Democrats need 10 Senate Republicans to join them in supporting the bill in order to advance the legislation, which is considered virtually impossible.

In his statement, Biden described Republicans’ refusal to support voting rights legislation as “unconscionable”.

“The right to vote – to vote freely, to vote fairly, and to have your vote counted – is fundamental,” Biden said. “It should be simple and straightforward. Let there be a debate and let there be a vote.”

The Senate is now holding a procedural vote on Democrats’ Freedom to Vote Act, the party’s latest effort to enact national voting rights legislation.

Democrats need 60 votes to start debate on the bill, which is a significant hurdle in a Senate that is evenly divided 50-50 between the two parties.

Given Republicans’ strong opposition to the bill (and Democrats’ other voting rights bills that came before it), the vote is expected to fail.

If Republicans do succeed in once again blocking a voting rights bill, Democrats will likely face increased pressure to eliminate or alter the Senate filibuster.

The blog will be watching the vote closely, so stay tuned.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus praised the recent developments in the negotiations over the reconciliation bill, but the group made clear that a final deal has not yet been reached.

“Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to by everyone,” the CPC said on Twitter. “We’re fighting for the best legislation for working families across the country. That will always be our goal.”

Members of the CPC met with Joe Biden yesterday to discuss the reconciliation bill and the demands from moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin to narrow the legislation’s scope.

According to reports, the president indicated to the progressive lawmakers that some of the bill’s provisions, including a proposal to make community college free for two years, are not likely to be included in the final bill.

Senator Joe Manchin strongly denied a report that he is considering leaving the Democratic party depending on the outcome of the negotiations over the infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package.

“I can’t control rumors, and it’s bullshit — bullshit spelled with a B, U, L, L, capital ‘B,’” Manchin told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• The White House outlined its plan to quickly administer coronavirus vaccine shots to children aged five to 11, once the Food and Drug Administration authorizes their use for that age group. Jeff Zients, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response team, said the Biden administration expects the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make their decisions on authorizing vaccines for those children “in the next couple of weeks”.
• Climate activists are gathering at the White House and on Capitol Hill to demand robust climate provisions in Democrats’ reconciliation package. Moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has called for eliminating the Clean Electricity Performance Program from the bill, sparking outrage among climate activists and experts, who say the program is the most important environmental policy in the legislation.
• The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was on lockdown this morning, after its campus received a bomb threat. Those at Walter Reed were instructed to shelter in place, and officials have been lifting the order building by building as they secure the campus.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Kamala Harris was on Capitol Hill today to cast a tie-breaking vote on advancing the nomination of Catherine Lhamon to serve as assistant education secretary for civil rights.

While at the Capitol, the vice-president was asked for her thoughts on the negotiations over the infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package.

Harris told NBC News, “We had really good conversations yesterday. They were very productive; they were very candid. And I’m feeling very optimistic about the path forward.”

Harris joined Joe Biden yesterday for his two meetings with congressional Democrats to discuss the bills. The first meeting was with progressive lawmakers, and the second was with centrist Democrats in Congress.

Democrats generally voiced optimism after the meetings, but it remains unclear whether they can reach an agreement on the framework of the bill by the end of the month.

As a side note: Harris’ vote this morning marks her tenth tie-breaking Senate vote as vice-president. In comparison, Mike Pence cast 13 tie-breaking votes over his four years as Donald Trump’s vice-president, and Harris has only been in office for nine months. (And Biden cast no tie-breaking votes over his eight years as Barack Obama’s vice-president.)

House speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked whether she believed Democrats could reach an agreement on the framework of the reconciliation package by the end of the week.

“We have met every milestone along the way in our timetable, and we will be where we need to be in order to reach our goal,” Pelosi said in her rather vague response.

When asked about reports that free community college and paid family leave programs may be scaled back in the final bill, Pelosi said that was “news to me”.

Joe Biden reportedly told progressive lawmakers yesterday that certain initiatives were likely to be downsized or eliminated in the final bill, as Democrats try to bring down the proposal’s price tag to appease moderates like Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.