Biden: Fight for voting rights 'far from over,' a day after third bill fails in the Senate

WASHINGTON – A day after the Senate failed for the third time this year to pass voting rights legislation, President Joe Biden said the fight to pass voting protections is not over.

“We have to keep up the fight and get it done. And I know the moment we're in. I know the stakes. This is far from over," Biden said during remarks at the 10th anniversary celebration of the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. About 450 people were in the audience, including civil rights leaders, members of Congress and government officials.

Biden’s comments came as Republican opposition blocked voting legislation meant to combat restrictive laws several GOP-led state legislatures adopted after the 2020 election. 

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who also spoke Thursday and has taken the lead on voting rights for the administration, have also come under pressure by advocates to use their bully pulpit to get voting rights reform passed. 

"At the end of the day, if we don't make this happen, it's going to rest at the feet of not only the president but members of the Senate," Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in an interview with USA TODAY. "Democrats need to stand up and protect our democracy, and anything less is a failure."

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

'Use your soapbox':Activists urge Biden to step up voting rights push as latest bill fails in Senate

Senate Republicans this week blocked advancement and debate of the Freedom to Vote Act , which would have created federal rules to protect mail-in voting, expand early voting, ensure same-day voting registration and make Election Day a federal holiday.

The bill failed by a 49-51 vote.It was the third time this year Republicans voted unanimously to block voting-rights legislation.

"They're afraid to even just debate the bills in the U.S. Senate, as they did again yesterday, even on a bill that includes provisions as they've traditionally supported," Biden said Thursday. "It's unfair. It's unconscionable. It's un-American."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this week that Democrats will have to determine an "alternative path forward" after the defeat of the latest legislation, but did not offer any details as to what the path could be.

Harris noted Thursday the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed because leaders of the civil rights movement “knew their power.”

“They knew that there is real power when your cause is just,” she said. “They used then that power to push Democrats and Republicans to pass that landmark bill. So today, as a nation, we must summon our own power."

Wednesday’s vote was at the forefront of Thursday's ceremony celebrating 10 years of the memorial honoring King.

Hill Harper, an actor and author who emceed the event, said he believes Democracy has been threatened in recent years, adding that “our right to vote remains under attack.”

Quoting King, Harper said: "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."

More:Manchin's staunch opposition to ending filibuster puts Biden's agenda in jeopardy

The memorial was originally dedicated in October 2011, and has a statue of King carved by sculptor Lei Yixin, based on a quote from King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech: "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." The statue is surrounded by an inscription wall that includes 14 quotes from the Civil Rights leader's speeches, sermons and writing.

Harper noted that King spoke about democracy during a time period when Black Americans were not afforded the right to vote, adding that “democracy is something we can never take for granted.”

“When Dr. King spoke about democracy, it was during this time period when people who look like me, and most of you here, were not afforded the vote, the vital right to vote,” he said. “It is something that we can never, ever take for granted.”

Contributing: Savannah Behrmann, Joey Garrison, Cady Stanton

Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_