Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin indicated this week that he would oppose his party’s effort to eliminate the Senate filibuster if the Democrats were to retake the Senate in 2020.
“That’s bulls***,” Manchin said when asked about the effort to abolish the filibuster, which is typically used by the minority party to prevent partisan measures from passing.
Abolishing the filibuster would lower the voting threshold to close debate on legislation, requiring only a simple majority.
“The whole intention of Congress is to have a little bit of compromise with the other side,” Manchin said, “Our job is to find common and cooling ground, if you will, to make something work that makes sense.”
According to the Daily Caller, the chances that the Democrats will retake the Senate in November is unlikely because it will require the party to hold on to every incumbent seat up for reelection and will toss-up races in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Maine, Montana. Democrats would even need to win Alabama, where one-term Democrat Doug Jones is already widely considered a flipped seat for Republicans.
According to CNN, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has signaled an openness to eliminate the filibuster, which, if he's elected, would allow his agenda to be pushed through the Senate uninhibited by Republican opposition.
Current Senate rules require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Some argue that this ensures legislation has bipartisan support, while others say that the American people can’t wait on a hyperpolarized governing body to deliver legislation the people need.