It’s not often you hear someone in Washington admit that they were wrong, let alone that they were terribly wrong – and the entire Democratic Party, including me, did.
While Democrats held the presidency and a majority in both chambers, they became frustrated with the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation. Senate Democrats tried this to end the filibuster, to force it through President Joe Biden agenda – an effort I fully supported during my 2022 campaign.
Halfway through my first term, I realize how critical the filibuster is and what a state our country would be without it.
I thought ending the filibuster was necessary to bring results to working families. I thought it was unlikely that Republicans, who were in the minority, would find common ground on legislation proposed by Democrats. I thought Democrats weren’t as ruthless as Republicans and we had to be at that level if we wanted to alleviate the anger voters felt.
On reflection, the pursuit of these short-term victories obscured the bigger picture and the lasting impact of a Senate without a filibuster – a Senate that ignored the voices of minorities and ordinary people.
History has proved the former senators right Christmas Cinema (Arizona) i Joe Manchin III (West Virginia), two people vilified by the Democratic Party for supporting the filibuster and whose courageous efforts damaged their political careers. A rule is a critical line of defense that prevents President Donald Trump from having the government fill in the blanks with modern regulations, deregulations or procedures of their choosing.
And while I was once vocal in criticizing Manchin and many of his decisions in the Senate, I now wholeheartedly agree with his assessment that eliminating the filibuster is part of “extreme election-year politics that puts party power ahead of everything else.” We cannot become a smaller version of the House of Representatives.
Even with the filibuster intact, Biden and Senate Democrats delivered huge victories for working families. Some of these successes – such as: Act on infrastructure investments and employment and legislation to support veterans exposed to toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan – were the result of bipartisanship and compromise. Senate Democrats could not pass this critical legislation along party lines and had to operate across the aisle. We are now in the same situation, with the power dynamics reversed.
Trump’s victory and Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress quickly showed how disordered basic majority voting in the Senate can be. The media and political pundits are regularly concerned and outraged by the constant changes to modern policies introduced by the current administration. And if Americans are terrified now, imagine what the law would be like today if Democrats eliminated the filibuster.
We would have Save America Act so far, what I don’t support it. We could have extreme policies like nationwide restrictions on abortion, rollbacks of LGBT rights, repeal of birthright citizenship, and constrained voting rights nationwide. Having an established government troika, many regulations Project 2025 would be easily passed. Republicans could essentially change the entire government and country with a basic majority vote.
The only thing that has stopped many unpopular policies since the beginning of 2025 is not Democrats – but the filibuster.
As the midterms approach, Democrats may regain control of Congress. If we win the Senate, we won’t have enough votes to cross the 60-vote threshold on our own and will once again have to find common ground with our Republican colleagues, assuming the Democratic Party’s narrative on the filibuster remains what it has become under Trump: that we like it. As a party, we will need to abandon our worst impulses and work together to find solutions to the problems facing Americans.
Some of my colleagues, including myself, were frustrated with dealing with minorities. But this process isn’t a bug — it’s one of the Senate’s best features. We have a wonderful democracy that is imperfect but requires cooperation.
If we don’t do it voluntarily, the filibuster will force us to. That’s how it should be.
