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The United States Senate is quickly preparing for a high-risk confrontation over obstruction, a once mysterious procedural ploy that hampers Democratic efforts to pass broad voting rights legislation, among other measures.
A fight over obstruction, which sets a 60-vote limit for passing the legislation, seemed inevitable after Democrats narrowly took control of the Senate in January. But the urgency has increased in recent weeks, as Republicans in state legislatures across the country aggressively press for new voting restrictions.
The Senate last week introduced S1, a vast voting rights bill that has already passed the US House of Representatives. With the obstructor fully installed, it has no chance of passing through.
And the problem for Democrats is that there is no consensus on the Senate bench about what, exactly, they should do about the obstruction. Some Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the most prominent of them, are vehemently opposed to getting rid of the procedure altogether, saying he ensures that the minority participates in the legislation. This means that Senate Democrats are likely to have to find a way to moderate the rule to allow them to pass the legislation.
“The obstruction as it stands, the status quo, is not sustainable and it will not be like that in 12 months,” said Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago who served as Barack Obama’s chief of staff. “What we don’t know is what changes are palpable for senators.”
There are a lot of ideas floating around. One that seems to be gaining support is the so-called talking obstructionist. This would require senators who want to obstruct a bill to speak in plenary as long as they want to suspend legislation. Other ideas include exempting voting rights legislation from obstruction or reducing the 60 vote limit to move forward.
“Everything is on the table,” said Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, on Wednesday.
Joe Biden has long opposed getting rid of the obstructionist. But this week he energized defenders by endorsing the speaking obstruction.
“It’s getting to the point where, you know, democracy is having a hard time working,” he told George Stephanopoulos of ABC.
Manchin said on Thursday that he welcomed Biden’s position on the matter.
“I think it’s encouraging that President Biden understands this process and wants it to work, so at least he’s taking a stand. Let’s see what comes out, ”he said. “It is important to have a minority stake in the Senate because without it you have nothing.”
In particular, Schumer reiterated what he said publicly to defenders this week, saying that the convention was united and the bill would be taken to the Senate floor, according to a person familiar with the meeting. He did not say what the Democratic strategy for obstruction would be.
Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat and another strong supporter of the maneuver, said the spoken obstruction “is worth exploring, but there are many consequences”.
Democrats are raising the temperature about the need for reform. Last summer, Barack Obama asked to get rid of the obstruction, describing it as a “Jim Crow relic”. Elizabeth Warren said this week that the obstruction “has deep roots in racism”. Senator Raphael Warnock, who became Georgia’s first black senator in January, delivered an emotional speech to the Senate floor this week on the need to protect the right to vote.
“This problem is bigger than the obstruction,” he said. “It is a contradiction to say that we must protect minority rights in the Senate while we refuse to protect minority rights in society.”
Asked if he could persuade some of his colleagues to change the obstruction, Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, said he was optimistic.
“The most fundamental aspect of the Republic is access to the polls. We have a responsibility to defend it. If we don’t, we won’t be honoring our oath – so let’s find out how to do it. We will discover this specific path through our conversation, ”he said.
But Republicans are also struggling. Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, said this week that she would use the obstruction to block voting rights and LGBTQ + legislation, promising that she would “speak until I fall” if necessary.
And Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, warned earlier this week about a “scorched earth” Senate if Democrats got rid of the obstruction. He swore that he would use all available procedural maneuvers to prevent the Senate from moving forward.
“No one serving in this House can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth Senate would look like,” said McConnell. “Even the most basic aspects of our colleagues’ agenda, the more mundane tasks of the Biden presidency, would be more difficult, not easier, for Democrats in a post-nuclear nuclear Senate that is 50-50.”
McConnell sent that warning, although it was he who cleared the obstruction of the Supreme Court nominees in 2017 to obtain confirmation from Neil Gorsuch.
Despite these warnings, Stephen Spaulding, senior adviser for public policy and government affairs at Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said Democrats need to keep all options on the table.
“Senate Democrats have a majority and need to have the capacity to govern,” he said. “This idea that obstruction can be inexpensive, that you can essentially raise your hands behind closed doors and stop everything is unacceptable.”