President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda has hit a major roadblock in the 50-50 Senate, as moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have emerged as unequivocal opponents of eliminating the legislative filibuster.

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“The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting” the voice of small and rural states “and our democratic form of government,” Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, wrote in an April 7 Washington Post op-ed. “That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.”

Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, has taken a similar approach to preserving the legislative-minority-friendly tool.  . . .

A 60-vote threshold is needed to overcome a legislative filibuster. In the past, both Senate Democrats and Republicans have used the filibuster as the minority party to block legislation supported by the majority party.

Leaving the filibuster in place in a 50-50 Senate would make it virtually impossible for Biden to move key parts of his agenda through Congress. The filibuster, however, would likely not stop Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, given the Senate parliamentarian’s recent ruling that the massive infrastructure package may be considered under budget reconciliation rules, which permit the passage of legislation with a simple majority vote.

Biden has proposed a comprehensive immigration overhaul that would offer a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.  . . .

Biden has called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban as part of his gun control agenda.  . . .

The House is voting on statehood for Washington D.C. during the week of April 19. It faces an uphill climb in the Democratic-led Senate due to the filibuster.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have said the use of budget reconciliation is on the table if Republicans in Congress do not join Democrats to pass Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which includes significant federal spending on improving the nation’s infrastructure. Democrats haven’t drafted the formal legislative language of Biden’s plan yet.

Biden has said he plans to release a separate proposal, the American Family Plan, to follow the American Jobs Plan. . . .

Pelosi was asked Thursday if she thinks the family plan and jobs plan will be rolled into one bill. She said there would likely be two pieces of legislation and she hopes the legislative process on infrastructure in the House will be completed by July 4. She said Democrats want to finish the “whole package” by August. . . .

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(Excerpt from Just the News. Article by Nicholas Ballasy. Photo Credit: Getty Images.)