Biden endorses changing Senate rules to require a 'talking filibuster,' like 'back in the old days'


President Biden for the first time Tuesday publicly endorsed changing the Senate's filibuster rules so if a senator wanted to block a bill, he or she would have to earn it.
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos broached the topic in an interview segment released Tuesday night, asking Biden if he will "have to choose between preserving the filibuster and advancing your agenda." Biden said yes, but "I don't think that you have to eliminate the filibuster — you have to do it what it used to be when I first got to the Senate, back in the old days," when "you had to stand up and command the floor, you had to keep talking" and "work for the filibuster."
Stephanopoulos followed up to make sure Biden is "for bringing back the talking filibuster," and Biden said yes, he is. "That's what it was supposed to be," he said. "It's getting to the point where, you know, democracy is having a hard time functioning."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Senate Democrats, who narrowly lead the 50-50 chamber, would need every member of their caucus to change the filibuster rules, and several moderate Democrats — including Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), plus Biden — oppose eliminating the filibuster altogether. But Manchin and other Democrats, most recently Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), have voiced support for switching back to a talking filibuster.
"The filibuster allows a senator to block a bill by refusing to yield the floor unless at least 60 colleagues vote to end the debate and proceed to a vote," The Washington Post explains. "In recent years, the objecting senator has not had to actually speak for hours — instead, simply announcing an intent to filibuster is enough to block the bill." Currently, NBC News adds, "the onus is on the majority to find 60 votes to advance legislation; if it falls short, it stalls. A talking filibuster would shift the onus to the minority to hold the floor and speak incessantly until it gives up or the majority pulls the bill."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders