Biden Backs Filibuster Reform After McConnell Says Dems Would Pay if It Is Scrapped

President 👤Joe Biden on Tuesday backed reforming, rather than scrapping, the filibuster after Senate Minority Leader 👤Mitch McConnell warned Democrats that ending the long-standing Senate procedure that can block partisan legislation would bring the Democratic president’s agenda to a standstill.

Top Democrats, including the two highest-ranking party members in the Senate, have stepped up rhetoric in recent days about the future of the filibuster, which requires support from 60 of the chamber’s 100 members to pass most legislation — effectively giving power to the minority party in a closely-divided chamber.

The parliamentary custom has long been seen as a mechanism requiring bipartisan consensus that distinguishes the Senate from the House of Representatives, where only a simple majority is needed to pass legislation. But with the Senate riven by a rancorous partisan divide, consensus has become an increasingly elusive goal.

With the current Senate split 50-50, Democrats have said they may need to do away with the filibuster to pass Biden’s priorities, including a bill already approved by the House of Representatives intended to facilitate voting in elections.

Biden, who served 36 years in the U.S. Senate, told ABC News he supported changing the Senate’s filibuster rule back to requiring that senators talk continuously on the chamber’s floor to hold up a bill, marking the first time he has endorsed reforming the procedure.

Biden said he did not think the filibuster needed to be eliminated, but favored returning it to “what it used to be when I first got to the Senate back in the old days. You had to stand up and command the floor. You had to keep talking.”

Asked if he was for bringing back the “talking filibuster,” Biden said, “I am. That’s what it was supposed to be.”