“My personal opinion is that we need democracy in the United States Senate, and that means allowing, ultimately, a majority of senators to answer the call of the American people."
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen called for abolishing the Senate filibuster, arguing that the practice is anti-democratic. The comments come after Van Hollen recently announced he would be challenging Chuck Schumer to be the next Senate majority leader.
Van Hollen made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the What’s Next conference in Denver on Friday. The senator argued that the filibuster prevents the Senate from adequately representing the will of American voters.
“My personal opinion is that we need democracy in the United States Senate, and that means allowing, ultimately, a majority of senators to answer the call of the American people. So that means 51 votes,” Van Hollen said. “My personal view has been all along that the filibuster is an anti-democratic — small ‘d’ — provision. It’s not in our Constitution. It was put in there by senators to enhance their power over the power of the people.
“My view is we need to have a system where you have lots of debate, lots of debate, but at the end of the day, a majority reflecting the will of the people should be able to hold a vote on an important measure. That’s my personal view,” he continued. “This is an issue that I think we need to talk to the caucus about. And I think it’s going to be very important on certain measures, especially democracy protection measures, that we find a way to make sure that the American people’s will governs…”
The filibuster has been a feature of the Senate process for generations, although it is not officially named in the Constitution. Current Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly rejected calls to eliminate or change the 60-vote filibuster to protect the institutional norms of the Senate.
Van Hollen’s comments confirm speculation that members of the Democratic Party are seeking to abolish the filibuster once they regain power in Congress to push legislation without opposition. However, with President Donald Trump still in power, any far-left legislation passed by Congress will likely be vetoed. After the sweeping Democratic victory in the midterm elections, Trump posted a photo on Truth Social of a MAGA-style hat with the word “VETO” written on it.
Concern, however, persists about a scenario in which Democrats abolish the filibuster and then win the presidency in 2028, giving them the unrestricted ability to pass legislation without any pushback from the GOP. In January of 2022, under President Joe Biden, most Senate Democrats voted to change the filibuster rule to push forward voting rights legislation. That effort failed after centrist senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted against it. However, neither senator is still a member of Congress.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
