#Romney claims Biden is like Trump with filibuster demand

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Tuesday claimed President Biden is going down “the same tragic road” as former President Donald Trump with his call to eliminate the Senate filibuster as a way to pass sweeping voting rights legislation.

Romney, in a speech on the Senate floor, compared Biden’s comments to Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The Utah Republican blasted Biden’s forceful speech in Atlanta Tuesday, noting the president “said the goal of some Republicans is to turn the will of the voters into a mere suggestions.”

“And so, President Biden goes down the same tragic road taken by President Trump — casting doubt on the reliability of American elections,” Romney said.

“This is a sad, sad day. I expected more of President Biden, who came into office with the stated goal of bringing the country together.”

Romney, 74, defended the filibuster — which requires 60 votes to advance most proposals — saying it empowers the minority caucus and is an important compromise that keeps the US “centered as a nation.”

Romney made his point as he condemned the way “foundational American institutions,” were “demeaned” under Trump, including elections, the press, and justice, intelligence and public health agencies.

He also accused Biden of making “sinister and racist implications” about those who oppose the Democrats’ signature Freedom to Vote Act, which had been repeatedly stalled in the Senate by the vote blocking maneuver.

The bill would allow for expanded opportunities to vote early and by mail. It would also allow same-day voter registration and make Election Day a federal holiday.

Progressives claim the measure, along with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would counter a wave of restrictive voting laws passed in GOP-led statehouses that were a reaction to false claims of fraud leveled by Trump — and party leaders, over whom he still exerts political control.

Romney’s sentiments were echoed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who accused the president of invoking “the brutal racial hatred of Jim Crow Segregation to smear states’” new laws.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said votes on the federal proposals or a change to the filibuster rule would come by Martin Luther King Jr Day, but his gambit was in doubt due to opposition from moderates in his caucus.

Democrats hold a razor thin margin in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tie-breaking vote in the 100-member legislative body, which is divided evenly between Republicans, and Democrats and their Independent allies.

With Post wires