Here Comes Filibuster Reform
Posted at 11:45 a.m. on Jan. 23
Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV) has promised that if he cannot reach a deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on filibuster reform, Senate Democrats will take advantage of the “nuclear” option that allows a simple 51-person majority to change the rules.
David Weigel digs into Reid’s offer: “Both plans limit the time needed to debate nominees after a filibuster is broken, from 30 hours to two hours.”
Ezra Klein is critical of the compromise: “The last, best hope for filibuster reformers is that McConnell won’t take Reid’s deal… Under Reid’s backup plan, the…minority would have to supply the 41 votes required to keep a filibuster going, while the majority wouldn’t have to do much of anything… It would make filibustering a much more unpleasant experience.”
