Civics: Harris Wants the Senate Filibuster Gone
Kamala Harris is still keeping most of her agenda incognito, but she gave a strong hint about its direction on Tuesday when she blessed the Democratic plan to blow up the Senate’s filibuster rule. This would turn the Senate into the House for the purposes of passing legislation, which means a wide open door for progressive priorities.
She’s couching this procedural coup as related only to imposing a national abortion law on all 50 states. But anyone paying attention knows that’s a ruse. Once the 60-vote filibuster rule ends for one piece of non-budget legislation, it will end for everything.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, recently said he wants to break the filibuster for a national abortion law and pass a bill that would impose California-style voting rules on all 50 states. Good-bye voter identification, and hello nationwide ballot harvesting.
It won’t stop there. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says he wants to break the filibuster to restructure the Supreme Court. Sen. Bernie Sanders has recently given up on his former institutional objections and now favors 51 votes to pass his proposals.