Chuck Schumer outlines 2025 agenda if Democrats sweep, eying filibuster changes

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Aug. 20, 2024, 6:46 PM EDT


CHICAGO — Voicing confidence that Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats will win the election, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s eyeing changes to the 60-vote filibuster rule to pass a pair of major bills that would expand voting rights nationwide.

Schumer, D-N.Y., outlined a path for Democrats to change the Senate rules that require holding 50 of their 51 seats. The party expects to lose Sen. Joe Manchin's seat in West Virginia but hopes to protect incumbents, including Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in addition to seeing Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., replace independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Manchin and Sinema, who are both retiring, in 2022 stood in the way of Democrats who wanted to change the filibuster, which requires a majority vote — or 50 senators plus the tiebreaking vice president. But that dynamic could change next year.

“We got it up to 48, but, of course, Sinema and Manchin voted no; that’s why we couldn’t change the rules. Well, they’re both gone,” Schumer told reporters here Tuesday during the week of the Democratic convention. “Ruben Gallego is for it, and we have 51. So even losing Manchin, we still have 50.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/chuck-schumer-outlines-2025-agenda-democrats-sweep-eying-filibuster-ch-rcna167433

[Raven123]

1. Why telegraph this?

I sure hope he has some inside information that the Senate majority is a lock for Dems. Otherwise I question the strategy.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. It's not like it is anything "new"

It has been a priority since Joe Biden took office in 2021 and Democrats took control of the Senate for the first time in 6 years, where we managed a 50-50 tie, requiring a month's worth of Schumer haggling with Turtle to force Democratic control of the Committee Chairs because the "tie-breaker" vote would be the Democratic VP (who is President of the Senate).

Democrats immediately teed up 2 Voting Rights Acts that January 2021 (along with other legislation) that "stalled" because of the filibuster (cloture) Rule.

Schumer's assumption is that we will lose the WV seat but retain the other 48 (+ adding 2 (I)s who caucus with Democrats) and I am guessing that assuming we win the WH, our VP will be able to cast a tie-breaker vote to change the Rule.