EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this story was first published in 2021, when Democrats were trying to end the filibuster.
It was completely predictable that President Donald Trump would call on Senate Republicans to end the custom of the filibuster, which has bedeviled majority parties for years.
How are Democrats able to shut the government over their demands to re-up expiring enhanced Obamacare insurance subsidies? The filibuster.
Why were Republicans able to block Democrats’ efforts to create a national voting standard when Joe Biden was president? The filibuster.
In fact, most major legislation that has passed in recent years — from the Affordable Care Act to Trump’s tax credits and Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act — has been crammed through using budget reconciliation rules that allow lawmakers to sidestep the filibuster. But that’s a complicated process and can’t be used for things like spending bills to keep the government open.
Democrats tried and failed to change Senate rules when they had the majority and Biden was president. Now, Trump wants Republicans to change Senate rules while they have the majority and he’s the president.
The upside of ending the filibuste
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