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Are the days of the filibuster numbered? There has been some talk among both major parties over recent years of ending the century-old Senate rule. Now, senators from each side have proposed a bill to reform the filibuster and streamline the legislative process. Can it pass? And, perhaps more importantly, would such a bill prevent the otherwise seemingly inevitable end of an era?
An Age of Bipartisanship?
Early Thursday morning, October 8, The Washington Post published an exclusive op-ed by two US senators — Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) — announcing their proposal to reform the Senate rules for the filibuster. “Our country faces massive challenges, but getting solutions through the U.S. Senate is too often like walking through tar,” they wrote. “Obstruction, dysfunction and even government shutdowns have become the norm. Senators on both sides of the aisle have had enough.”
“We’re working together – a Democrat and a Republican – because we ran for office to get things done for working families,” they continued. “But in the more than a decade that we have served together in the Senate, both our parties have been hamstrung by the Senate’s tangled rules.”
They went on to lay the blame at the feet of both parties. Both have, when in the minority, used the 60-vote cloture requirement to end a filibuster to either delay or prevent the passage of bills backed by the opposing, majority party. Regardless of who wins in November, they say, the reforms are still necessary. That’s why they’re sharing their plan now, before Election Day. Of course, such a bill can’t even be introduced until Congress returns after the elections – nor is there any guarantee one will come. Sen. Daines is not seeking re-election and will retire in January, while Sen. Merkley is running in the coming election.
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As it stands today, what typically happens on any but the most bipartisan bills is that the majority party introduces the legislation, plans to pass it, but then fails to do so because of the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture and force a simple-majority vote to pass or fail the bill. As the lawmakers point out in their op-ed, the cloture rule, created in 1917, was filed 126 times from its creation through 1974 – and then a whopping 2,762 times from then to 2024.
Their proposal would eliminate the need for cloture entirely on some routine business and procedural votes like nominations, motions to proceed, and bill amendments. As well, they would eliminate the “intervening day.” As it stands, a full calendar day is required between a successful cloture vote and the final consideration.
Then there’s the bipartisan fast track. They also propose expediting “broadly bipartisan, common-sense legislation.” Under this rule change, any bill that clears committee with support of a majority of both Republican and Democratic members can be fast-tracked by a petition signed by the committee chair, ranking member, and 16 senators, with at least three being from each party. Then the bill gets a simple majority vote with debate limited to six hours. This, they argue, would incentivize bipartisan work in committees and on the Senate floor as well.
Might this herald a coming age of bipartisanship?
The Filibuster and Partisan Divide
More likely, the filibuster won’t survive the next Democratic majority. For that matter, it’s entirely possible it won’t last anyway. There’s support for ending the filibuster on both sides of the aisle, though “bipartisan” is hardly a term that could describe it. Some Republicans, backed by President Donald Trump, want to end the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, among other GOP priorities that Democrats simply won’t allow to pass.
But that’s because they hold the majority in both chambers of Congress and the White House. Democrats tried in 2022 to remove the rule and allow the blue trifecta under Joe Biden to pass so-called voting rights reform. Only two Democrats – Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia – prevented the Democratic majority from ending the filibuster.
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But they’re both gone now, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) already explained during the 2024 election cycle that, should the elections go their way, Democrats would be rid of the filibuster once and for all. More recently, Democrat Juliana Stratton of Illinois told The Center Square she supports ending the filibuster to pass abortion guarantees, voting rights “protections” that forbid ID requirements, and a federal assault weapons ban. “When Democrats take back the Senate, I want us to end the filibuster and get things done,” she said.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) proposed ending the filibuster back in May to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. “No arcane Senate procedure should block people’s right to have their voices heard,” he said at the time. “When we’re back in power, we’ve got to pass voting rights.”
While most Senate Republicans still oppose ending the filibuster, arguing doing so is shortsighted, since the party that kills it only has until they lose the majority to reap the benefits. Whether Senate Democrats are really so shortsighted or simply believe they can do enough without the filibuster to make it worth it, the procedure’s days do seem numbered. And with the divisive nature of the bills behind such talk, it’s unlikely any “reform” can stop it.
