By Hailey Abdilla
As legislation proposed by democrats continues to be stalled, many have begun to push for ways to limit the power of the filibuster. Backed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the president has urged senate democrats to continue fighting to end the filibuster. Many have suggested that the number of votes to end a filibuster be reduced or that the original “talking” filibuster be reintroduced in order to limit the power of the filibuster. Democratic senator Richard J. Durbin has stated that “the use of the filibuster is out of control” and is one of the leading senators pushing for a change in the filibuster. However, limiting the filibuster is not only supported by Democrats, many Republican senators have also pushed to end the filibuster when it’s being used to prevent a bill from even reaching the floor because they believe it limits lower-tier senators from expressing their ideas. Despite this Republican support, most senate Republicans are against limiting the filibuster as many believe it limits too much of the minority’s influence in congress. Therefore, the odds of any changes being made to the filibuster are slim to none due to the fact that the changes would need at least 67 of the 100 votes in the senate. Senate Democrats could introduce what is known as a “nuclear option” in which there is a series of votes that would allow for these changes to occur with only a partisan vote; this has been used twice in recent years, once by each party and both times to ensure supreme court nominees. However, many Democratic senators oppose this option, believing it would fracture and damage the senate. The filibuster is not included in the constitution, making it possible to change or get rid of it without a constitutional amendment, but many argue that the constitution warns against supermajorities which can be prevented with the filibuster. Unfortunately in recent years, the filibuster has been used by both parties simply to ensure the other doesn’t get what they want, causing our lawmaking and legislative practices to come to a screeching halt. Opposition to changing the filibuster is led by Senate Republican Mitch McConnell who has threatened retaliation if changes are made. Overall, the arguments to end the filibuster are politically charged and met with strong opposition and strong support.