After Manchin infuriated Democrats by saying he would not support the party's sweeping voting rights bill, the speaker implored the party not to shift focus.

In a letter to her caucus, Pelosi stressed that Democrats must prioritize their sweeping elections bill — which she noted includes key protections on voting rights, 300 pages of which were written by the late Rep.

She said Democrats would also take up the more targeted bill that is favored by Manchin, but firmly said “it is not a substitute” for the broader bill.

Pelosi’s note to fellow Democrats comes two days after Manchin infuriated many in his party by declaring in an op-ed that he would vote against the party’s broader voting bill, known as H.R.

Civil rights leaders met with Manchin on Tuesday morning in the latest bid to pressure the West Virginia senator, but attendees said he didn't commit to reconsidering his position on the legislation.

Manchin has said he wants Democrats to instead focus on a smaller-scale voting bill, named for Lewis, that would reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and restore provisions that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.

The broader voting bill, Manchin said, was drafted in a “partisan manner” that would only further sour relations between the two parties.

Al Sharpton described the meeting between Manchin and civil rights leaders as "candid, not hostile." Manchin told reporters afterward it was "respectful" and the "starting of a good relationship.".

Even if Manchin did vote yes, Democrats' signature voting bill would still face an enormous barrier to becoming law: the Senate's 60-vote threshold known as the filibuster