With Democrats in the minority, the biggest threat to the filibuster may come from a frustrated President Trump.
Washington, D.C. — Senate Republicans were quick to make clear Wednesday that the vast majority of the caucus is opposed to amending the filibuster under new GOP leadership, preempting expected pressure from Democrats — and possibly a frustrated President Donald Trump — to amend the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passing legislation.
Pressed during a post-leadership election press conference about whether the filibuster will remain unchanged during his tenure, newly elected Senate GOP Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said “yes.” Several Republican Senators sounded a similar tune inside the Capitol following the GOP’s closed-door, secret-ballot leadership vote.
The Senate GOP conference “still supports the filibuster for the simple reason that Democrats tend to be in the majority more than we are and we have to recognize that without the filibuster there’s a lot of things they would try to do that would be very problematic,” said Senator John Hoeven (R., N.D.), a backer of Thune in the GOP leadership contest. “Stacking the Supreme Court, trying to bring D.C. and Puerto Rico into states and then have more Democrat senators.”
“The real concern,” Hoeven added, “is protecting long term the power of the Senate.”
Senator Bill Cassidy (R., La.) spoke similarly about the importance of the filibuster for advancing conservative priorities over the long term, even when Democrats are in power.
“Most people understand that we rarely have all three and they have all three more often. So taking a little bit of the longer view, you’d understand it would be deleterious to the Republican cause and the conservative cause if we give the other side openings to end the filibuster,” Cassidy told NR Wednesday afternoon.
Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is the leading proponent of packing the Supreme Court to remove its conservative majority. Whitehouse’s idea was once relegated to the progressive fringes but is now a mainstream belief within his party.
Once relegated to the progressive fringe, mainstream Democrats began to embrace the idea of eliminating the filibuster during President Biden’s term, pushing for a rule change to exempt certain pieces of legislation from the procedural hurdle for the better part of two years, until centrist Democratic Senators Manchin (W.Va.) and Sinema (Ariz.) quashed any chance of success.
Now, congressional progressive caucus chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) has come out against doing away from the filibuster because Democrats will be in the House and Senate minority for at least the next two years.
“We’ve had pressure in the past from Democrats, we’ve had it from Republicans,” said Senator John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), the newly minted GOP Senate Majority Whip. But he maintains that the “vast majority” of the senate Republican conference wants to to retain the filibuster.
“It’s good to hear Senator Thune voice his agreement that it’s an important part of the institution.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s leadership election, Trump called for recess appointments to get his cabinet picks across the finish line, signaling an early impatience with Senate procedure that could roil the upper chamber in the coming months.
Senate Republicans have uniformly stated their commitment to making sure Trump’s cabinet picks are confirmed as quickly as possible so his administration can get the ball rolling. They have also highlighted the electoral mandate for passing Trump’s agenda items on the economy and illegal immigration.
It remains to be seen whether Trump pressures Republicans to reform the filibuster if he gets frustrated at the pace of his cabinet confirmations and legislative priorities. During his first term, Trump repeatedly criticized the filibuster, labeling it “outdated” and even calling for its overhaul.
Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) acknowledged as much, although he does not support getting rid of it. “It probably depends on what the Senate gets done,” Hawley said in a gaggle with reporters when pressed by NR about this dynamic. “If there’s a lot of foot dragging and not a lot of success, I bet there will be pressure.”
“I’m not a fan of blowing up the filibuster,” Hawley added. “There’s a lot of permutations to the filibuster. Historically, it’s looked like different things at different times, but I’ve never advocated for getting rid of it outright.”