The Senate majority leader urged colleagues to address the issue ‘head on before the passions of one particular issue or another arise.’
The Senate majority leader urged colleagues to address the issue ‘head on before the passions of one particular issue or another arise.’
T he Senate could be headed for a showdown over the legislative filibuster sooner than many had expected.
On Wednesday — after President-elect Joe Biden, two new Democratic senators from Georgia, and one new Democratic senator from California are all sworn in — Republicans will lose their Senate majority. One of the first orders of business in the new 50–50 Senate will be a power-sharing agreement that will govern how committees are run and how resources are allocated. In an email sent to GOP colleagues on Monday night, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell wrote that he wanted the deal to protect the Senate’s legislative filibuster — the 60-vote threshold required to pass most legislation.
“We also need to enter into a power sharing agreement with the Democrats. While I am guided in this effort by the [2001] Lott-Daschle agreement, I believe we need to also address the threats to the legislative filibuster,” McConnell wrote in an email obtained by National Review.
The soon-to-be Senate minority leader told GOP colleagues that they need to address the issue of protecting the legislative filibuster “head on before the passions of one particular issue or another arise.”
Two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have vowed to protect the legislative filibuster. After the November elections, in order to allay concerns about what Democratic victories in the Georgia Senate runoff elections would mean, Manchin went on Fox News to promise he would never vote to get rid of the filibuster. “I commit to you tonight and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that’s watching — I want to allay those fears — I want to rest those fears for you right now. Because when they talk about, whether it be packing the courts or ending the filibuster, I will not vote to do that,” Manchin told Bret Baier. Yet despite Manchin’s promise, progressives are working hard to set up a vote that will pressure Manchin and Sinema to break their word and blow up the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Although Vice President Harris will be able to cast a tiebreaking vote — effectively giving Democrats a 51–50 majority — it will be very difficult for Democrats to run the Senate without a power-sharing agreement. As Yuval Levin recently wrote for National Review Online, “The Democrats can’t really count on the incoming vice president to be available for every procedural vote over the next two years, and they can’t form the Senate schedule around her schedule either.” Furthermore, “if they insist on treating a tied Senate as under their control . . . they would only increase the likelihood that Republicans who are unhappy with that arrangement will look for opportunities to use their 50 votes to cause mischief, and there would be lots of such opportunities all the time.”
Here’s a full copy of the email obtained by National Review that McConnell sent to colleagues on Monday night:
From: McConnell, Mitch (McConnell)
Date: Mon, Jan 18, 2021 at 5:28 PM
Subject: This week
Colleagues – As you prepare to return to DC, there is of course much to reflect on and discuss. Between the inaugural, an impeachment and a 50-50 Senate, we face unprecedented challenges, and will need to seek insight and wisdom from each other. I plan to resume in person lunches starting next week to better facilitate the discussions we must have moving forward.
Tomorrow, the House message announcing the impeachment of President Trump will be laid before the Senate. I believe that the first formal steps after that should wait until Thursday at the earliest, given the competing demands of the inaugural. That step is for the House managers to present the article of impeachment and for us to move forward from there. I will stay in touch as we learn more about the Democrats intentions on how they plan to conduct the trial.
We also need to enter into a power sharing agreement with the Democrats. While I am guided in this effort by the Lott-Daschle agreement, I believe we need to also address the threats to the legislative filibuster. As you know, we all resisted the direct calls of President Trump to destroy the Senate by eliminating the legislative filibuster when we controlled the House the Senate and the White House.
I believe the unique rules of the Senate which forces compromise between the parties is needed now more than ever. Having an equally divided Senate means that we have to work together to get anything done and the spirit of true bipartisan compromise is possible only when each side realizes they must come to the table together. Our times demand nothing less.
I believe the time is ripe to address this issue head on before the passions of one particular issue or another arise. We will need unity and the support of each of you as this may take time to work through. A delay in reaching an agreement could delay the final determination of committee assignments but it is important to maintain the status quo on the legislative filibuster.
Votes are possible Wednesday afternoon on cabinet nominees.
See you soon.
Mitch