filibuster

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights leaders say is vital to protecting democracy collapsed when two senators refused to join their own party in changing Senate rules to overcome a Republican filibuster after a raw, emotional debate. The... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing stark criticism from civil rights leaders, senators return to Capitol Hill under intense pressure to change their rules and break a Republican filibuster that has hopelessly stalled voting legislation. The Senate is set to launch debate Tuesday... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., made clear Thursday that she supports an effort to pass sweeping voting rights legislation, but she all but doomed the bill to failure by announcing she opposes a change to filibuster rules to bypass... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will travel to Capitol Hill Thursday to begin crafting a plan to pass a pair of voting rights bills that have been stalled in the Senate for months. A major focus of Biden’s lunchtime visit... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate only just returned to work a few days ago, but already it’s embroiled in the knock-down, drag-out brawl of the year. The “it,” of course, is the raging war of words over Senate Democrats' effort to... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will use a speech in Georgia to endorse changing Senate filibuster rules that have stalled voting rights legislation, saying it’s time to choose “democracy over autocracy.” But some civil rights groups won’t be there, in protest of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to the Senate Democratic Caucus released Monday that if Republicans continue to block sweeping voting rights legislation currently stalled in the chamber, a vote on amending or doing away... Read More

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Stacey Abrams, who built her national reputation by advocating for voting rights, is calling on Congress to take action on federal voting rules as the Democrat launches a second bid to become Georgia's governor. Senators including Georgia Democrat... Read More

WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Senate have succeeded repeatedly in thwarting the passage of both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation crafted to overhaul the country’s election systems and secure Americans’... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Despite changes reflecting the spirit of compromise, Senate Democrats were unable on Wednesday to convince a single Republican to vote with them in support of guaranteeing Americans the right to easy access to the polls.  As a result,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — To get around Republican obstruction, President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Democrats are considering a change to the Senate's filibuster rules in order to quickly approve lifting the nation's debt limit  and avoid what would be a... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The bipartisan infrastructure deal  senators brokered with President Joe Biden is hanging precariously ahead of a crucial Wednesday test vote as they struggle over how to pay for nearly $1 trillion in public works spending. Tensions were... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Looming over Senate Democrats this year is a decision that could fundamentally change Congress: whether to change or eliminate the rules of the filibuster to enact President Joe Biden's agenda.  Liberal advocates have pushed hard for the... Read More

Senate Republicans have blocked debate of a sweeping overhaul of how elections are run in the U.S. The bill was pushed by congressional Democrats who argued it was needed to counter a spate of new GOP laws this year tightening... Read More

WASHIINGTON - Senate Republicans filibustered their Democraticcolleague's signature voting rights bill Tuesday night, denying it the 60 votes needed to advance the bill and start debate. Thought the outcome was a foregone conclusion, it was nevertheless a blow to Democrats'... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democrats' expansive elections and voting bill  is all but certain to be rejected in a key test vote in the Senate, providing a dramatic example of Republicans' use of the filibuster  to block legislation and forcing... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are poised to use a filibuster to derail Democrats' effort to launch a bipartisan probe of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The showdown will be the first vote this year when the GOP... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are ready to deploy the filibuster to block a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection, shattering hopes for a bipartisan probe of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and reviving pressure on Democrats to... Read More

WASHINGTON — West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is used to being an energy advocate. Sure, he represents coal country, but he has fashioned himself as an “all of the above” energy... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Senate split 50-50, leaders of the Democratic majority are looking for ways to advance their priorities and President Joe Biden's agenda  around the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster  by opponents. This week,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden at his first news conference left the door open to backing fundamental changes in Senate procedure to muscle key parts of his agenda like immigration and voting rights past Republican opposition "if there's complete... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Joe Biden on the verge of his first big legislative victory, a key moderate Democrat says he's open to changing Senate rules that could allow for more party-line votes to push through other parts of... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate cloture rule might be the biggest Legislative obstacle in front of President Joe Biden’s policy agenda.  Simply put, the cloture rule is a debate-limiting procedure that requires 60 Senators to agree before moving on to a... Read More

WASHINGTON - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell dropped his demand that Democrats maintain the Senate filibuster — ending an early stalemate in the Senate that prevented party leaders from negotiating a power-sharing agreement. McConnell announced Monday night that he was... Read More