WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Democratic leaders are refusing to say whether they will abolish the Senate filibuster after taking control in January.
  • Republicans could consider ending the rule first to advance the SAVE Act, tax revisions, and other priorities.
  • Schumer avoided direct questions, while Fetterman has argued that preserving the filibuster protects minority parties.
  • Hageman and Fine urged Republicans to use reconciliation and the remaining legislative session to advance key priorities.

Democrats may have handed President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans an unexpected opening by refusing to say whether they plan to abolish the Senate filibuster after taking power in January.

With two months remaining before Republican terms expire, GOP lawmakers could consider ending the filibuster first and using their current advantage to advance legislation. That possibility follows years of Democratic efforts to weaken or eliminate the procedural rule when it blocked their agenda.

Before 2024, Democrats openly discussed scrapping the filibuster to pass legislation opposed by Republicans. Those conversations faded after Trump was elected, but Democratic leaders are again declining to give direct answers about their plans.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat set to return as Senate Majority Leader, faced questions about the issue during a Capitol Hill news conference. He responded, “The first thing we are going to do is reduce people's costs and work the legislative process to do that.”

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Schumer also refused to answer earlier questions about his plans for the Senate, according to Fox News. He and putative House Speaker Hakeem Jefferies, also a New York Democrat, again declined to address the filibuster question on Friday.

A Senate filibuster allows lawmakers to delay or block action on bills, resolutions, or nominations by extending debate. Ending one through cloture generally requires a three fifths threshold, or 60 senators, preventing most legislation from advancing with a simple majority.

Republicans could view the Democratic silence as permission to act before Democrats do. Ending the filibuster could allow Republicans to pursue measures including the SAVE Act, which passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate, as well as tax cut revisions.

The rule has already traveled a rough partisan road. In 2013, Democrats used the so called nuclear option to eliminate the 60 vote requirement for federal judicial nominations, except Supreme Court nominees, and for executive office appointments.

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Republicans expanded that precedent in 2017 after Democrats refused to allow Trump’s nominees to advance. The GOP eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, using the procedural weapon Democrats had previously introduced.

James Talarico, who is set to become the freshman senator from Texas, told NBC News that he believes “the majority has the right to govern in this country.” His position adds to questions about whether Democrats would preserve the legislative filibuster after retaking control.

Not every Democrat supports eliminating it. In July, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania wrote in The Washington Post that former Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia had been vindicated for defending the rule.

Fetterman called the filibuster a critical protection against Trump obtaining a government able to enact laws, deregulation, or procedures of its choosing. His office did not respond to a Just the News inquiry asking whether he still supports the rule now that Democrats are returning to power.

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Fetterman also wrote, “And while I was once vocal in criticizing Manchin and many of his decisions in the Senate, I now wholeheartedly agree with his assessment that scrapping the filibuster is part of ‘extreme election-year politics that put party power over everything else.’ We cannot become a smaller version of the House of Representatives.”

In 2022, Schumer held a vote that would have enabled Democrats to end the filibuster and pass legislation. Manchin and Sinema joined all 50 Republicans to block that effort, while then Vice President Kamala Harris said in September 2024 that she supported ending the rule to pass pro abortion legislation.

Trump repeatedly urged Senate Republicans during his first term to eliminate the filibuster for his preferred policies. Then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky resisted, arguing for preserving the protection for future minority parties, including Democrats.

Current Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has repeatedly said he would not abolish the filibuster to enact Trump’s policies.

Republicans are also considering alternatives. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who will become Wyoming’s newest Republican senator, said Republicans should use another reconciliation package to pass key legislation before Democrats take control.

Hageman proposed including border and immigration budget provisions and codifying cuts to the USAID foreign aid budget. Rep. Randy Fine of Florida agreed, saying Republicans should work “around the clock” and use every remaining minute to advance their priorities before power changes hands.