(CNN)President Joe Biden on Friday pledged to "keep up the fight" to pass voting rights legislation that remains stalled in Congress due to Republican opposition, as he delivered the commencement address at a historically Black university in South Carolina.

       "I've never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote. Never," Biden said at South Carolina State University's 2021 fall commencement ceremony.

       The President urged Congress to pass two Democratic-sponsored bills -- the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act -- that Senate Republicans have blocked.

       The two bills are aimed at fighting voter suppression, making it easier to register to vote, making Election Day a public holiday, ensuring states have early voting for federal elections and allow all voters to request mail-in ballots, among other provisions.

       The Republican opposition has prompted progressive Democrats and activists to demand changes to the Senate filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. But Democrats don't have the votes they need in the chamber to end the filibuster rule because they face opposition within their own party, including from Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

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       Biden honored Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina during his commencement address.

       The HBCU is the alma mater of Clyburn, who is the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in Congress and an influential figure in South Carolina politics. Clyburn on Friday will march with the class of 2021, as he did not march to receive his degree in 1961 because the school did not conduct December ceremonies at that time, Psaki said.

       Clyburn's endorsement of Biden ahead of the South Carolina Democratic primary was a key inflection point in Biden's presidential campaign. Clyburn is largely credited with giving Biden the boost he needed to win the South Carolina primary, which injected much-needed momentum into his campaign and ultimately led to him winning the Democratic nomination.

       "My good friend and one of our great leaders, Jim Clyburn, is receiving an award that day and I've been asked to give the commencement speech and present him the award. And so I'd almost walk to South Carolina to be able to do that for Jim," Biden said in an interview with WLTX.

       Several top aides, including Psaki, senior adviser to the President Mike Donilon and director of the Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond, accompanied Biden on the trip.