Pelosi says that she won't 'give up on Joe Manchin' over his opposition to sweeping voting-rights legislation
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- Speaker Pelosi said that she would not "give up" on fellow Democrat Joe Manchin over voting rights.
- Pelosi pointed to Manchin's tenure as W.V. governor and secretary of state in gauging his thinking.
- She said that the congressional leaders may be able to address concerns that he has with the bill.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Sunday said that she would not "give up" on fellow Democrat Joe Manchin, the moderate West Virginia senator who last week came out against the party's sweeping voting-rights bill.
In an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail last Sunday, Manchin argued against the For the People Act, also identified as S.1, contending that a major election reform bill should not be passed on a party-line vote.
The legislation would end partisan gerrymandering, expand early and absentee voting, establish national standards for voter registration, and blunt voter purges, among other things.
Manchin also reaffirmed his support for the filibuster, a position that has become anathema to many Democrats after years of legislative gridlock in Congress.
On CNN's "State of the Union," Pelosi remained hopeful when it came to Manchin, despite his public statements.
"I don't give up on Joe Manchin," she told host Dana Bash. "When he was governor and Secretary of State in West Virginia, he initiated many of the initial ideas that are in the H.R. 1, S.1, the For the People Act."
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Pelosi expressed optimism in the Senate eventually passing the legislation, despite a chamber that is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans and with the filibuster still in place to potentially derail the legislation.
"I read the op-ed and you read a part of it - I think he left the door open," she said. "I think it's ajar. I'm not giving up."
She added: "I do know that he has certain concerns about the legislation that we may be able to come to terms on."
Pelosi said that she's had a conversation with Manchin about the legislation.
In March, the House passed the For the People Act in a near party-line 220-210 vote. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi was the sole Democrat who voted against the bill, and no Republicans crossed over to support the legislation.