Democrats look for plan B on filibuster
By Jordain Carney - 10/21/21 06:00 AM EDT
Democrats are struggling with their inability to reform the legislative filibuster, as intense pressure from activists meets dug-in opposition from within the caucus.
The latest frustration over the Senate rule comes after Republicans blocked a revised election reform bill Wednesday, marking the latest Democratic priority to fall victim to the chamber’s 60-vote requirement for most legislation.
Democrats are predicting that they’ll regroup as a caucus and try to figure out a path forward, including what, if anything, they can do about the filibuster. But they face a full end-of-the-year plate of big fights over the debt ceiling and a scramble to get a deal on a social spending bill.
“We’re going to sit down. ... We’re going to talk about other strategies to get this bill passed,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “Sen. [Charles] Schumer [D-N.Y.] says we need to get this done by Thanksgiving and I think he’s right.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added that Democrats would “obviously huddle as a caucus to figure out what the next steps are.”
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/577703-democrats-look-for-plan-b-on-filibuster
