Once obscure, the Senate filibuster is coming under fresh scrutiny not only because of the enormous power it gives a single senator to halt President Joe Biden's agenda, but as a tool historically used for racism.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) on Sunday told CNN that he plans to speak with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) about his vehement opposition to eliminating or…
Senate filibuster s racist past fuels arguments for its end
LISA MASCARO, AP Congressional Correspondent
April 9, 2021
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1of3Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., listens to a reporter s question during a news conference at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Lexington, Ky., Monday, April 5, 2021. In the background is University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto.Timothy D. Easley/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, holds a news conference, Thursday, March 25, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)Jonathan Ernst/APShow MoreShow Less
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WASHINGTON (AP) Once obscure, the Senate filibuster is coming under fresh scrutiny not only because of the enormous power it gives a single senator to halt President Joe Biden’s agenda, but as a tool historically used for racism.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, holds a news conference, Thursday, March 25, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)
WASHINGTON – Once obscure, the Senate filibuster is coming under fresh scrutiny not only because of the enormous power it gives a single senator to halt President Joe Biden’s agenda, but as a tool historically used for racism.
Senators and those advocating for changes to the practice say the procedure that allows endless debate is hardly what the founders intended, but rather a Jim Crow-relic whose time is up. Among the most vivid examples, they point to landmark filibusters including Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour speech against a 1957 Civil Rights bill, as ways it has been used to stall changes.