The 119th Congress has just begun, and Republicans have a new leader in the Senate with Sen. John Thune (R-SD). As Thune has been saying ever since he was selected as majority leader in November, he plans to protect the filibuster, the very institution Senate Democrats fought so ferociously to destroy when they were in the majority. They would have ramped up those efforts even further, had they kept control of the chamber. For Friday's speech, Thune plans to again reference his commitment to the filibuster.
On Friday morning, The Hill shared Thune's prepared remarks that the outlet obtained, with emphasis on protecting the filibuster.
The Hill quoted Thune's remarks, in part:
“One of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate. That means preserving the legislative filibuster — the Senate rule that today has perhaps the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate,” Thune said in prepared remarks obtained by The Hill.
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Thune, however, will say Friday in his remarks that he wants to restore the Senate “as a place of discussion and deliberation.”
“That includes empowering committees, restoring regular order, and engaging in extended debate on the Senate floor, where all members should have a chance to make their voices – and the voices of their constituents – heard,” he will say.
Under Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democrats tried multiple times to nuke the filibuster, including when it comes to attempts to pass legislation that would lead to a federal takeover of our election laws and attempts to pass legislation that would expand Roe v. Wade by allowing for abortion up until birth without legal limit in all 50 states. Such efforts failed, though, thanks to Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Both ultimately left the Democratic Party and became Independents, and neither ran for reelection in 2024.
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Leading up to the 2024 election, far-left groups made it clear that they prioritized nuking the filibuster and packing the U.S. Supreme Court. In the final weeks of the campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her support for such a plan in order to make it easier for legislation to do with her her pet issue of abortion to get passed. Sen. Bob Casey Jr (D-PA) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who was running against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate race, expressed the same views. Harris, Casey, and Allred all ended up losing their races.
Now that Democrats are in the minority, with Republicans controlling the White House (once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated), Senate, and House, as well as conservatives making up a majority on the Court, Democrats not so surprisingly are a little less supportive of getting rid of the filibuster at this time.
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