The Senate filibuster is, simply put, a strategy used to block or delay voting on a bill. At first, the filibuster was only used to delay the majority’s agenda, but now it is being used by Republicans to block bills entirely.

The Senate filibuster can be looked at in one of two ways. The first is as a negative tactic used to prevent anything from being accomplished while at the same time unfairly stopping legislation in the Senate.  However, the filibuster can also be seen as a positive tactic used to make sure the minority also has a voice in the Senate and isn’t being overpowered by the majority.

In our current system, a procedure called “cloture” means that ⅔, or a supermajority, of the Senate is needed to end debate that could be used to filibuster. Only a ½ simple majority is required to pass a law.

The supermajority in the Senate right now is 60, and because there are 50 Democratic and 50 Republican senators, Democrats would need at least 10 Republican votes, assuming all 50 Democrats voted, to end debate.  

There are different ways for senators to filibuster. There is the traditional way, which is made by talking and giving a speech, but there is also a less complicated way of blocking a vote.  It’s easy to filibuster in the modern Senate, much easier than when the filibuster was first introduced. You don’t need to physically talk to a filibuster, you just need ⅓ of the Senate to threaten to block the vote to end debate. Most of the time, if a group of at least 41 senators is threatening to filibuster, the Senate majority leader doesn’t even call for the vote at all.

You can’t perfectly measure how many times a filibuster has been used over the years, but you can look at the number of cloture motions filed. Take a look at the chart down below.

As you can see, the number of cloture motions filed has dramatically increased since 1917, when the cloture rule was first adopted. This chart ends at the 115th Congress, but according to the U.S. Senate website, the Senate made 328 cloture motions from 2019–2020, and the number of cloture motions filed in the current Senate term is 54. 

This increase in filibusters has prevented the Senate and our government from progressing. Republicans focus more on preventing Democrats’ agenda from passing rather than focusing on improving their own issues and progressing their own agenda.

Although currently, Democrats are the ones trying to abolish or reform the current filibuster, it isn’t solely Republicans who are to blame for the misuse of this legislative tool that was once only used for the most important issues. It is a problem that has gotten worse due to senators from all across the political aisle. When Democrats were the minority in the Senate, they also frequently used the filibuster to block the majority’s agenda.

One may think that the filibuster is necessary for Congress to function properly, but that’s false. At one point in America’s history, the United States House of Representatives also allowed the filibuster procedure. Interestingly enough, that filibuster was originally broken by Republican Thomas Brackett Reed in 1888. This abolishment of the filibuster had a monumental impact on the 51st Congress. According to The Atlantic, “The 51st Congress, expected to accomplish next to nothing, instead became one of the most productive in history.” The 51st Congress’s accomplishments still affect us today, accomplishments that would not have been possible had the filibuster not been abolished. To name some highlights, Congress that year passed military pensions, granted statehood to multiple current U.S. states, and approved naval expansion. The House of Representatives had ended their gridlock, but the Senate has yet to do the same.

Why does the filibuster cause a problem?

The majority was elected as the majority for a reason. If the majority of what people want, and the agenda most Americans want passed, is being blocked by the minority, then what is the point of voting? The minority was not selected for a reason, so why should they have the power to stop legislation the majority of Americans want passed? Under this current system, it would technically be entirely possible for senators who only represent 11% of the population to block legislation affecting the other 89% of Americans. A small percent of Americans should not be able to prevent what the majority of Americans want. Never mind the fact that nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is there any mention of the filibuster. It is entirely implied that our founding fathers wanted legislation to pass with a simple majority. The filibuster goes against the will of the American people.

Many believe that the filibuster is an outdated Jim Crow relic, and the racist history of the filibuster cannot be overlooked. The most-known filibusters are when senators from southern states used the filibuster to block civil rights legislation. The longest filibuster was used when Senator Strom Thurmond spoke for over a day to try and stop the Civil Rights Act from being passed. It’s been argued that the same tactic that tried to block the act protecting every American’s right to vote is still being used to try and restrict voting rights.

Who wants to get rid of the filibuster?

While it is currently mainly Democrats that want to abolish or reform the filibuster to pass their agenda, there are some who have understandable doubts. What if, when Democrats are in the Senate minority again, Republicans use the lack of a filibuster to pass laws that further restrict voting rights or continue to negatively affect reproductive rights, etc? But here’s the thing about the fear of Republicans getting more power: Republicans simply don’t have the majority of Americans on their side. Research shows an average of 40% of adults identify as Republican or Republican-leaning, compared with 49% of adults who identify as Democratic or Democratic-leaning. 

What would filibuster reform or abolishment look like? 

More voters want to reform or make changes to the filibuster rather than get rid of it completely, so what would reform mean? There have been a few significant changes to the Senate filibuster over the past few years. For the most part, reform means keeping the 60 vote rule, but switching to a simple majority for certain motions. These exceptions include using a simple majority to end debate on judicial and executive branch nominees. As for abolishment, one way the Senate could get rid of the filibuster is by changing rule 22, the formal ruling that allows the filibuster to occur. However, this is unlikely to happen because it would need ⅔ of the Senate to pass, and the Senate does not have that many votes opposing the filibuster. The more likely way to abolish the filibuster is called the nuclear option. According to CBS News, it works like this: “A senator raises a point of order, or states that a Senate rule is being violated. If the presiding officer agrees, a new precedent is established. If the presiding officer disagrees, another senator can appeal the ruling, and a simple majority can overturn the presiding officer's ruling and create a new precedent.” The nuclear option is how the reforms mentioned above came to be.

Ending our current Senate filibuster will not only have a positive impact on our generation, but on all future generations. It’s time we end Senate gridlock and start working on progressing rather than blocking legislation. Just because the filibuster has been around for a long time does not mean it’s right or helps our government in any way. The Senate filibuster is undemocratic, and it’s time to let it go.