Montana Gov. Steve Bullock separated himself from most of his Democratic presidential competitors by calling for an end to the Senate filibuster, a procedural rule he says make it near impossible for his party’s agenda to be enacted.
Bullock on Wednesday blasted the Senate’s filibuster rule, which effectively requires 60 votes for any legislation to pass. Senators in the Democratic presidential field, including Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and several others, have not explicitly called for an end to the rule. Senators of both parties generally defend the filibuster rule as a preservation of minority rights unique to the chamber. With the Senate shifting partisan control seven times in the past quarter-century — in 2015, 2006, 2003, in 2001 three times, and 1994 — lawmakers know that today’s majority could be tomorrow’s minority.
But Bullock, 53, told reporters at the National Press Club the filibuster does more harm than good. He acknowledged that with the Senate’s 53-47 Republican majority, ending the filibuster would strip his part of any ability to block legislation it opposed.
“At least then the choice would’ve been a lot clearer,” said Bullock, who is polling around 1% in most polls. The filibuster “is nothing more than what drives the status quo in Washington, D.C.”
Among 2020 candidates, Bullock joins Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in his calls to revoke the Senate filibuster. California Sen. Kamala Harris said she is open to eliminating the rule, while former Vice President Joe Biden, a senator for 36 years, hasn’t commented on the issue.
