(RepublicanView.org) – Democrats in the Senate could be poised to push for a reform or elimination of the old filibuster rule if they maintain control of the Upper House following the results of the national election later this year, reports suggest.
Under the current rules, a supermajority in the Senate is required pass most bills, but a revamp would do away with the 60-lawmaker requirement for measures to pass. Practice of the current filibuster rule also effectively allows 41 senators to block the passage of a particular bill. A filibuster is defined as any action aimed at prolonging debates on a particular bill or resolution in order to delay its passing.
The status quo on the filibuster in the Senate came into question after news broke that Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Independent Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema would not be seeking re-election this year. The two have particularly been in favor of keeping things as they are, along with the Republican segment of the Senate who have said that they like the current rules better than the ones being pushed by filibuster reformers from the Democrats.
“It’s going to be up to us… to defend the institution,” Republican South Dakota Senator John Thune said. Thune, who also serves as Senate Minority Whip and is contending with fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn from Texas for the GOP leadership position in the Upper House, added that especially if the right makes a good showing in the elections this year, Republicans should be committed to the defense of the filibuster.
Cornyn agreed, saying that the rule will likely be changed if Democrats continue to dominate the Senate. The left attempted to do away with the current set of rules for the filibuster two years ago, and were just two votes shy of succeeding. Those two deciding votes belonged to Manchin and Sinema.
A number of Democrats, including Senate candidates, have also openly expressed support for reforming or getting rid of the filibuster, arguing that it’s the only way to push through changes on voting issues, abortion, climate, and more. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon, for instance, told NBC News he’s hopeful the party will have enough votes next year to reform the process.
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