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President Joe Biden on Tuesday backed reforming, rather than scrapping, the filibuster after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats that ending the long-standing Senate procedure that can block partisan legislation would bring the Democratic president's agenda to a standstill. Top Democrats, including the two highest-ranking party members in the Senate, have stepped up rhetoric in recent days about the future of the filibuster, which requires support from 60 of the chamber's 100 members to pass most legislation - effectively giving power to the minority party in a closely-divided chamber. The parliamentary custom has long been seen as a mechanism...

The pace is quickening for House Democrats with last week’s passage of a troika of contrany titled bills now in the Senate hopper. First to switch chambers was House Bill (HB) 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. That was followed by HB1, For the People Act, and HB1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. For the privilege of being rescued, middle-class Americans will be rode hard by a $1.9 trillion price tag against their future liquidity and that of their children. HB1319 is dressed up with promises of compensation checks, virus testing and vaccines, food stamp and...

Sen. Joe Manchin, the moderate West Virginia Democrat whose vote the party will almost surely need to pass laws this year, signaled Sunday that he may be open to reforming the filibuster, a procedural rule that requires 60 votes for many measures, effectively dooming most legislation.

More than 60 progressive groups signed a letter that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging him to get rid of the filibuster in the Senate. The letter is calling for the filibuster to be removed after Democrats won the House, Senate and presidency for the first time since 2011. “The results of this election have unlocked the door to change, but another clear obstacle remains: the rules of the United States Senate that allow a partisan minority to block legislation and will prevent the Senate from governing and delivering on the promises they made to voters...

A group of Republican senators on Sunday sent a letter to President Biden suggesting they meet as part of his call for “unity” to negotiate the administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. ​”​In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support​,” the lawmakers, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, wrote​ in the missive. -snip- Along with Collins and Romney, the letter was signed by Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Rob Portman of...

Mitch (via his Twitter feed).."Today, I made clear that if Democrats ever attack the key Senate rules, it would drain the consent and comity out of the institution. A scorched-earth Senate would hardly be able to function. It wouldn’t be a progressive’s dream. It would be a nightmare. I guarantee it."

<p>Most of the time, Americans pay scant attention to the rules that the House and Senate choose to govern themselves. We laugh when the House decides to go for gender-neutral language, but none of us thinks that makes any real difference. However, in the Senate, "China" Mitch McConnell has paved the way for a rule change that will allow the Democrats to alter forever America's longstanding structure and enable them to become a permanent governing class.</p>

Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate Republican leader, said on Monday he would agree to a power-sharing agreement with Democrats, dropping demands that had held up the basic organization and daily work of the 50-50 chamber for days. Democrat Chuck Schumer, now the majority leader thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, and McConnell had been at odds over the Republican’s request that Democrats promise to protect the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance most legislation. Schumer has refused to guarantee the filibuster would stay. But in a statement, McConnell cited comments from moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin...

Far from being a helpless minority, Senate Republicans are in a powerful position to leverage their consent for key priorities from their voters.In a Senate that is now split 50-50, newly minted Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are negotiating a power-sharing agreement. Although Vice President Kamala Harris wields the tie-breaking vote for Democrats on the Senate floor, the two parties must negotiate how they will manage the day-to-day operations of the institution. What McConnell agrees to in the upcoming days will tell us a lot about how the Senate GOP plans to comport itself...

It’s a rare thing on Capitol Hill for a lawmaker’s team to try and play down their power. In the Joe Biden-era Senate, the balance of power is split evenly between the parties, 50-50. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat and the constitutional president of the Senate, gets to break the tie in votes that fall along party lines. So that means Democrats now get to set the agenda, chair the committees and get the little perks that come with being the controlling party, like added staff and better room reservations, right? In normal times, sure. But these are not...

President Biden isn't backing a Democratic-led effort to get rid of the Senate's filibuster procedure as Senate leadership struggles to agree on a power-sharing deal. "He has spoken to this many times. His position has not changed," Psaki told reporters Friday. Biden, a 36-year senator who sat in the chamber in both the majority and minority, has reiterated his support for the filibuster. Removing the rule would mean Biden could pass his more controversial bills with the Democratic 50-seat majority plus Vice President Kamala Harris, rather than a supermajority of 60. Biden did tell the New York Times last summer...

In one of his final acts as majority leader, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pressuring Democrats to keep the filibuster — the procedural tool that liberals and progressives are eager to to do away with so President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative priorities can be approved more easily over GOP opposition. McConnell has told Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer that retaining the legislative filibuster is important and should be part of their negotiations for a power-sharing agreement in the narrowly divided Senate. Schumer and McConnell met Tuesday to begin hammering out the details of organizing the chamber, which will be split...

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin drew the ire of progressives on Monday night after he pledged not to vote against his own party on Supreme Court packing or ending the filibuster, even if the Senate were to be split 50-50 in the wake of Georgia's runoff races. Appearing on Fox News, the U.S. senator from West Virginia said he would "not vote" with Democrats on those key issues if the Senate were split down the middle—effectively offsetting Kamala Harris' deciding vote as vice president.

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) vowed that he will not vote for packing the courts or ending the filibuster if Democrats take the majority in the Senate. Manchin also expressed opposition to defunding the police, Medicare for all, and the Green New Deal.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson opened Wednesday night’s episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” by pointing out the significance of Republicans likely keeping the Senate majority. As of Wednesday, Democrats had flipped GOP Senate seats in Colorado and Arizona and lost one in Alabama, for a net gain of only one seat. Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins pulled through in what many thought would be a close race, as did Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, while Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis appears likely to narrowly hold his seat as well. Carlson pointed to proposals like court-packing, abolishing the filibuster, legalizing...

Had Democrats given Trump's judicial nominees due respect and consideration, they could have had more influence over Barrett's nomination process. Judge Amy Coney Barrett is now Justice Amy Coney Barrett, replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. For invoking the “nuclear option” in the Senate back in 2013 and eliminating the filibuster for non-Supreme Court judges, Harry Reid deserves his round of applause. Reid is not the only Democrat to have worked hard on Barrett’s behalf — indeed, the Democratic Party’s actions during both the Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings played a pivotal role...

Former Senate leader Harry Reid says if Democrats win the presidency and the Senate, Joe Biden should take “no more than three weeks” to test bipartisanship before ending the filibuster so Democrats can overcome what they call Republican obstruction and pass bills. The retired Nevada Democrat told The Associated Press in an interview that he understands Biden wants to work with Republicans, as the former vice president and Delaware senator has in the past. But Reid said there is just too much that needs to be done in the country to wait around trying to reach agreements under the decades-old...

For months, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Senate Democrats have talked about eliminating the filibuster. With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, some Senators have said they must get rid of the filibuster so that they can pack the Supreme Court. Even if not used to pack the Supreme Court, eliminating the filibuster would radically transform the Senate and our country.

For months, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Senate Democrats have talked about eliminating the filibuster. And with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the discussion by the Democrats has become even more extreme, with some Senators saying that they must get rid of the filibuster so that they can pack the Supreme Court. Even if not used to pack the Supreme Court, eliminating the filibuster would radically transform the Senate and our country.

For months, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Senate Democrats have talked about eliminating the filibuster. And with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the discussion by the Democrats has become even more extreme, with some Senators saying that they must get rid of the filibuster so that they can pack the Supreme Court. Even if not used to pack the Supreme Court, eliminating the filibuster would radically transform the Senate and our country.  Surprisingly, during the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, Biden refused to answer the question about the filibuster: “are you willing to tell the American people whether or not you will support either ending...