Kamala Harris Tells Wisconsin Radio Station She Wants to ‘Eliminate The Filibuster For Roe’

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

During a Tuesday morning radio show in Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris made clear that she supports ending the Senate filibuster in order to restore federal abortion rights stripped by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” for a Monday interview that aired the morning after and reiterated her long-held belief that the filibuster should be removed for key pieces of legislation.

“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris said in the key swing state, adding:

And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.

Harris supported ending the filibuster during her run to the left in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary while a senator from California. In 2022, she reiterated that position in a statement supporting ending the filibuster to protect both abortion access and bolster voting access.

President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and long-time filibuster defender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have all signaled support for ending the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade. Sen. Joe Machin (I-WV), however, has said he cannot support Harris over her position on the filibuster.

WPR published more from the exchange with Harris:

Kate Archer Kent: You’ve said you want to work with Congress to pass a federal bill to codify abortion rights. How do you plan to get enough support in Congress to restore abortion rights when you’d likely need to pass a Senate filibuster? You’d have potential legal hurdles.

Kamala Harris: Well, let me first say to all your listeners you must re-elect your senator — Tammy Baldwin — because we need the votes in Congress to do exactly what you are saying. And that’s true.

It is well within our reach to hold onto the majority in the Senate and take back the House.

I would also emphasize that while the presidential election is extremely important and dispositive of where we go moving forward, it also is about what we need to do to hold onto the Senate and win seats in the House.

Click here for the transcript.