House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) thinks President Joe Biden “should endorse” eliminating the Senate filibuster.

In an interview with Politico, Clyburn said the president could “pick up the phone and tell [Sen.] Joe Manchin, ‘Hey, we should do a carve out.’” He added, “I don’t care whether he does it in a microphone or on the telephone — just do it.”

Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, has strongly opposed scrapping the filibuster. In announcing that he would vote against the For the People Act in early June, a sweeping voting rights bill, Manchin said some Democrats have “attempted to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of Democrats in the past.”

Clyburn told Politico that he had a meeting with Manchin around the time that the senator was drafting changes to an election reform bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Clyburn reportedly told him: “I’m not asking you to eliminate the filibuster. … But what I’m saying to you is that nobody ought to have the right to filibuster my constitutional rights.”

The filibuster is often viewed by progressives as a major roadblock to pushing through Biden’s agenda, as current rules have allowed Republicans to stall several partisan bills.

Biden, however, has stopped short of calling for the filibuster to be eliminated. He has previously stated his support for a talking filibuster, which would require legislators to physically remain on the floor, but has not indicated he would support nixing the 60-vote threshold required after a senator stops speaking.

Manchin told NBC in March that he would similarly be in favor of a talking filibuster.

“If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make them stand there and talk,” he said. “I’m willing to look at any way we can.”

Clyburn believes that if the two voting rights bills don’t reach Biden’s desk soon, “Democrats can kiss the majority goodbye.”

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