Sen. Manchin: 'There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster'

Sen. Joe Manchin in an op-ed said that he will not vote to nix or weaken the filibuster.

"The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. 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," Manchin wrote.

The West Virginia Democrat called for bipartisan compromise rather than ramming legislation through the chamber on a party-line basis: "We will not solve our nation’s problems in one Congress if we seek only partisan solutions. Instead of fixating on eliminating the filibuster or shortcutting the legislative process through budget reconciliation, it is time we do our jobs," he said.

Manchin is a key vote in the evenly split Senate currently comprised of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats — Vice President Kamala Harris is the tie-breaker in the event of a tie. Even in cases where the filibuster is not an obstacle, unless Senate Democrats are able to secure some Republican support, any one member of the Democratic caucus could derail plans to pass legislation by a simple majority.