Former President Barack Obama on Monday called the filibuster a "tool for obstruction" and urged Republican senators not to use it to block a key vote on the For the People Act voting rights bill this week.

"Republicans in the Senate are lining up to try to use the filibuster to stop the For the People Act from even being debated," Obama said during a tele-town hall with former Attorney General Eric Holder and grassroots activists about the bill, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will put to a procedural vote Tuesday to take up the measure.

"Think about this: In the aftermath of an insurrection, with our democracy on the line and many of the same Republican senators going along with the notion that somehow there were irregularities and problems with legitimacy in our most recent election, they're suddenly afraid to even talk about these issues and figure out a solution on the floor of the Senate," Obama said.

The former president also pointed to provisions mandating early voting and increasing transparency on donations, and noted that Democratic senators have said they're open to compromises.