Schumer: Senate to vote on filibuster change on voting bill

Schumer: Senate to vote on filibuster change on voting bill

FILE - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks to reporters about his efforts to advance their expansive social and environment bill, following a Democratic policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. Democrats suffered another blow to their agenda late Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian decided that hard-fought efforts to include immigration law changes should be stripped from the package because they don't comply with the chamber's rules. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will vote soon on easing filibuster rules in an effort to advance stalled voting rights legislation. Schumer says in a letter to colleagues that the Senate “must evolve” on the rules. Pointing to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the New York Democrat says the rule changes are needed to protect the nation’s democracy. Schumer says the Senate will “debate and consider” the rule changes on or before Jan. 17, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In the 50-50 Senate, Democrats are trying to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to turn back a Republican filibuster blocking their election law package.

Photo: FILE – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)