Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appeared to suggest he is willing to eliminate, or make changes to, the filibuster if Republicans try to block legislation.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Schumer said, “We Democrats, all of us, believe we need big, bold change. As I’ve said before, we hope our Republican colleagues will work with us to produce that change.”
“We will try to get them to work with us. But if not, we will put our heads together and figure out how to go, and everything is on the table,” he added.
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https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1371956369159507969
According to the Senate’s website, the filibuster is a “a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.”
Under the current rules of the chamber, 60 votes are needed to pass legislation. That means Democrats would need at least 10 Republicans to vote in favor of legislation to advance their agenda.
However, some have suggested that if the filibuster stands in the way of passing legislation, Democrats should abolish it.
The New York senator’s comments come after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned that scrapping the filibuster would create a “scorched earth” Senate.
McConnell also said he does not believe the filibuster needs to be reformed because, “It’s not broken, and it doesn’t need to be fixed.”
“This is a solution in search of a problem. It is not a problem that the Senate stops bad ideas or negotiates bipartisan solutions,” he added.
However, Democrats do have one way to pass legislation with just 51 votes: budget reconciliation.
As Vox reports, bills that “affect federal spending and revenue” can be passed through reconciliation.
Additionally, the bills “must reduce or increase the federal deficit by no less or no more than the amount specified in the resolution.”
If all 50 Democrats vote in favor of a bill, Vice President Kamala Harris could provide the tie-breaking vote to pass the legislation.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has already signaled that Democrats are considering using reconciliation to pass an infrastructure bill.
Democrats also used the budget reconciliation process to pass the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.