With Republicans projected to win the Senate majority in the 2024 election, “the filibuster will stand,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted on Wednesday.
Even when one party controls a slim majority of Senate seats, the other party can still block legislation from advancing due to the significant threshold required for overcoming the filibuster.
“In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate,” senate.gov notes.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Media contributor Jonathan Turley tweeted early on Wednesday, “Roughly ten minutes ago, the “end of the filibuster” movement suddenly went silent. In the morning, the rights of the minority will suddenly become the cause célèbre of Washington…”
“Consider the differences in the political parties—in our hour of victory, Republicans will defend the minority rights of Democrats to filibuster policies they object to,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a post on X. “Think about that @CNN — when you bray about fascism and an end to democracy.”
Some Democrats have expressed support for the idea of abolishing the filibuster to ram through their priorities.
HARRIS CALLS FOR ELIMINATING FILIBUSTER TO PASS ‘ROE’ ABORTION BILL INTO FEDERAL LAW
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris smiles during a campaign rally at Michigan State University’s Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan, on Nov. 3, 2024. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
“Abolish the filibuster. Codify Roe. Expand the Supreme Court. Protect abortion rights by any means necessary. We need all of the above. This is an emergency,” Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri tweeted in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris called for nixing the filibuster to enact “protections for reproductive freedom …”
But while McConnell suggested on Wednesday that he believes the filibuster is “very secure,” he won’t be at the helm of the Senate GOP much longer.
The dome of the Capitol lit up in 2008. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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He announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term as Senate Republican leader.