A bipartisan group of 61 senators signed onto a letter sent to Senate leaders Friday urging them to preserve the filibuster on legislation.
“We are writing to urge you to support our efforts to preserve existing rules, practices, and traditions as they pertain to the right of members to engage in extended debate on legislation before the United States Senate,” said the letter, which was sent to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Senators have expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of limiting debate when we are considering judicial and executive branch nominations. Regardless of our past disagreements on that issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.”
The letter from the group, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, comes just one day after the Republican-lead Senate voted to trigger the “nuclear option” on Supreme Court nominees, requiring only a simple majority to pass someone. Republicans made the changes to get around 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster after Democrats blocked cloture on Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia.
Democrats previously went “nuclear” in 2013, when they controlled the Senate, eliminating the filibuster for executive branch and federal judicial nominees.
“We are mindful of the unique role the Senate plays in the legislative process, and we are steadfastly committed to ensuring that this great American institution continues to serve as the world’s greatest deliberative body,” the letter continued. “Therefore, we are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of senators to engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future.”
Collins applauded the bipartisan support for the letter, which she said protects the rights of the minority party. “After the contentious and polarized debate of the past few weeks, I am hopeful that this letter indicates a new determination by a bipartisan group of more than 60 Senators to move forward to solve the pressing problems facing our nation,” Collins said in a statement.
“Democrats want the Senate to work, and we are willing to partner with our colleagues across the aisle if we can get things done for the American people,” Coons added. “We have a long way to go to heal the wounds between our two parties, but this letter is a small first step towards that important goal.”
The other co-signers are as follows:
Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), John McCain (R-AZ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Luther Strange (R-AL), Richard Burr (R-NC), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Bob Casey (D-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Boozman (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Thune (R-SD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Dean Heller (R-NV), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Kennedy (R-LA), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jon Tester (D-MT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Todd Young (R-IN), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
