Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Thursday said President Joe Biden went over the top in his push to take down the filibuster to pass Democrats' election reform, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demurred and supported the president's use of race as "wonderful" and "fabulous."
"Perhaps the president went a little too far in his rhetoric," Durbin told CNN's Jake Tapper.
Even Durbin noted Democrats' federal reforms seek to pass partisan bills only with their party's votes by using the extreme tactic of removing the filibuster, and is in response to Republican state legislatures passing election reforms on usual legislative standards.
"I thought his speech was wonderful," Pelosi told reporters at Thursday's press briefing.
"No criticism of Mr. Durbin," she continued. "He has to do what he has to do vis-à-vis his own members and the rest."
"Since you asked my critique of the president's speech, I thought it was fabulous," Pelosi said.
The Republican National Committee Research group noted, in contrast, that Pelosi praised Biden for saying Americans who oppose Democrats' radical election overhaul were domestic enemies.