It’s been over a year since Joe Biden took office and the Democrats took control of the Senate and, as a result, all three branches of government in the United States. Despite this, they haven’t accomplished much in that time. One reason for this is the dreaded filibuster, a centuries-old political mechanism that allows whichever party is in power (in this case, the Republicans) to postpone or reject legislation they don’t agree with by delaying or blocking it. However, there is now a chance — if a slim one — that the filibuster will be scuttled.
According to CNN, Chuck Schumer, who replaced Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader after the 2020 election, told his colleagues Monday that he plans to vote on whether or not to abolish the filibuster in the Senate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Day. If Republicans obstruct Democrats’ voting and elections overhaul measure in the next days, he added, this will happen, he said.
“Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy,” Schumer said in the letter. “We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.”
Schumer, on the other hand, may just lack the votes. All Democrats must support the elimination of the filibuster, yet the dynamic duo of Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have consistently said that they oppose it (as they have opposed many of the Biden-era Democrats’ proposals).
Schumer outlined how the filibuster had grown into a tactic to clog Washington’s wheels in his letter. he remarked, “The weaponization of regulations that were once supposed to short-circuit obstruction has been hijacked to ensure obstruction.” “Like it has many times before, the Senate must change. The Senate was created to change, and it has done so numerous times throughout our history.”
McConnell has vowed a “scorched earth” response should Democrats deep-six the filibuster. Then again, his party has no real power. For now.
