The Shadow
End the Filibuster on Food!
The Democratic Party’s shutdown of the government this October is a unique political phenomenon for many reasons.
For starters, the Democratic Party’s historical aversion towards the impacts of government shutdowns has disappeared. Now, Democrats are willing to drag out a shutdown!
In October, leading Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said “every day gets better” for Democrats during this shutdown.
In a 2024 joint statement, Virginia’s U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine wrote: “Nobody hurts more than Virginia when Congress fails to do its job of keeping the government open.”
Now, Warner and Kaine are marching lockstep with Schumer to keep the government closed.
They continue to reject the clean, short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that House Republicans passed.
I have written about the good programs in that Continuing Resolution.
A clean, short-term Continuing Resolution was supported 13 times by Democrats under President Joe Biden!
This role reversal is truly bewildering and marks a shift in the Democratic philosophy on governance.
How do they keep the government closed?
The answer is the modern filibuster/cloture rule.
The historic filibuster that we learned about in school allowed any member of the Senate to talk on the floor as long as they could.
The longest speech was a little over 24 hours.
The modern filibuster/cloture rule created in the 1970s allows senators to put rolling holds on bills, thus requiring 60 Senate votes before the legislation gets a floor vote.
There are limited exceptions to this rule. Confirming Supreme Court nominations and considering reconciliation legislation both bypass the filibuster.
Republicans and Democrats have passed our reconciliation bills this way.
But, most other legislation has to have 60 votes to move forward.
Our founders intended government to act on the will of the American people. Accordingly, the majority, not the minority, elected to Congress is empowered to control the levers of the legislative branch.
The so-called “tyranny of the majority” was espoused by Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina in the early part of the 19th century arguably in an attempt to defend slavery.
Nonetheless, in my opinion, the U.S. Senate erroneously has fallen into the “tyranny of the majority” trap of requiring a supermajority for almost everything!
The Senate could abandon that rule, return to the historic filibuster and end the shutdown.
I recognize that the complete dismantling of the modern filibuster/cloture rule means that it will be easier for Democrats to pass more of their policies when they control the majority.
But if we really believe in a government of, by and for the people, shouldn’t a majority, whether I agree or not, be able to pass something as simple as a clean Continuing Resolution?
Further, if either side passes legislation that is unpopular with the nation as a whole, the voters have the opportunity at the next election to throw the bums out.
I submit Senate Republicans should consider abolishing the modern filibuster/cloture rule. Political figures are always subject to the will of the people, but in the U.S. Senate both parties are often able to avoid taking hard votes by placing anonymous holds.
Before you think I am just now taking on this subject, I have written on this seven times previously. This includes once just before an election that could have changed the control of the Senate.
In that column, I encouraged whichever party was in control to change the rule to reflect the principles of democracy that our republic is based on.
I have often said it harms the republic to have such a rule. In this shutdown, we see that harm clearly.
By using the modern filibuster/cloture rule, the Democrats are refusing to fund the government, stopping essential items like paying our troops, providing vulnerable communities with food benefits and funding our air traffic control systems.
As of this writing, Democrats refuse to open the government until they extract concessions of $1.5 trillion in additional federal spending!
Senate Republicans should abandon the modern filibuster/cloture rule, at least as it comes to funding programs as important as feeding the children or the poor.
While debate on government funding continues, I will continue to call for a commonsense solution that respects the will of the people and shields American families from needless threats of crisis: filibuster reform.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at https://morgangriffith.house.gov/. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
