Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Progressives should oppose filibuster reform

Mitch McConnell

Ending the filibuster would likely allow Sen. Mitch McConnell to undo any accomplishments of the progressive movement, writes Garson.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Garson is legal counsel and chief of staff for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.

I’m a proud American progressive, which is why it alarms me to see leaders of the progressive movement relentlessly pushing to reform or abolish the Senate’s legislative filibuster.

For those who don’t know, in order to pass a bill in the Senate, you must first end debate on the measure. If somebody objects to ending debate, it’s called a filibuster, and 60 senators must vote to end debate in order for the bill to proceed. Filibuster reform would change this rule and make it possible to pass legislation with less than 60 votes.

I oppose filibuster reform because I believe it would severely backfire for American progressivism, as it already has with the Supreme Court.


Unfortunately, progressives who share my concerns are told to sit down, or are treated as traitors to the movement. That’s because the movement has become hostile to well-intentioned disagreement – a mindset that has existed for a while and was amplified with the election of Donald Trump.

Trump becoming president threw many people – myself included – into a existential political crisis, which reached a crescendo four years later when he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election. Since then, progressives have been on high alert.

That alertness has created a flight-or-fight, us-vs.-them mentality, and as my father Jeff Garson once put it, “Fight or flight is specifically designed to neutralize or ‘annihilate’ the will of the other.” This makes it hard to stray from your political “tribe.” If you do, there’s a good chance you will be rejected by your traditional allies. The end result is a progressive echo chamber that has outlived the Trump presidency.

That echo chamber has identified the legislative filibuster as an obstacle to necessary reform. The solution, progressive leaders insist, is to either eliminate the filibuster or, at the very least, reform it. Specifically, change the rules so that bills involving fundamental rights (like voting, health care, etc.) aren’t subject to the filibuster.

On its face, the hostility toward the filibuster and the push to change it make sense. The filibuster has become a defining feature of the Senate’s frustratingly cumbersome legislative process, as it gives a minority of Senators the power to stop a vote on a bill. Moreover, unlike in the famous film “ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ” (or the real life example of Wendy Davis in Texas), these senators don't need to do anything but vote against ending debate. There are no prolonged speeches or showings of commitment via endurance.

But, as with many “solutions” that come from echo chambers, I believe the sort of filibuster reform being advocated today would be dangerously short-sighted. While carving out exceptions to the filibuster might allow Democrats to pass certain reforms this year, I believe it would open the door for an aggressively conservative agenda – one that would make Ronald Reagan blush – when the tables turn and Republicans control the Senate.

That fear is not a fantasy – indeed, we already saw it happen with the Supreme Court.

Back in 2013, Senate Democrats carved out exceptions to the nominations filibuster for all but Supreme Court nominees (President Barack Obama had already had his two nominees confirmed to the top court). This cleared the path for a number of Obama’s nominees, both in the courts and in his own administration. The very next year, that path was blocked again after Republicans took back control of the Senate.

Two and a half years later, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Democrats tried to filibuster his nomination as retaliation for Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s top Republican, denying Merrick Garland a vote. Republicans responded by eliminating the last scrap of the nominations filibuster, thereby allowing Gorsuch, and the far more controversial Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, to be confirmed by the barest of majorities. Yes, Garland should have been confirmed to fill the late Antonin Scalia’s seat, but the end result of the 2013 “carve out” is a conservative supermajority for the foreseeable future, and the demise of Roe v. Wade and perhaps other formerly protected rights.

I believe that carving out exceptions to the legislative filibuster would lead to a similar result. While the existence of the filibuster makes passing new laws very difficult, the flipside is that it also makes undoing laws and programs (like the Affordable Care Act) very difficult. And, as mentioned, it serves as a barrier against a conservative agenda.

These arguments and comparisons are nothing new (Pete Weichlein of the Former Members of Congress Association previously discussed some of them), but pro-filibuster perspectives are almost absent in the progressive bubble. A short time ago, I searched The Factual for the word “filibuster” and found that left-leaning opinions ranged from relative neutrality to hardened vitriol. I didn’t find any defenses of the filibuster.

Sure, without the filibuster Democrats might be able to pass climate change and voting rights legislation this year, but Republicans are well-positioned to take back the Senate and House in November. Additionally, it’s unclear who will be favored in the presidential election in 2024. If Republicans win back the White House, Democrats will have cleared the way for Republicans to both undo the immediate, post-filibuster laws and implement at the federal level all of the state-level policies that have the progressive movement concerned (think voting restrictions, reduced Medicaid spending, more anti-abortion laws, etc.).

Is this guaranteed to happen? No. But we know from history that there is a substantial risk, and the progressive movement doesn’t seem to be acknowledging that risk. That’s what happens when dissent is shut down before it has a chance to make its case.

And that’s all I’m asking for – robust debate. Before we fundamentally alter lawmaking in America, let’s have a discussion about what’s at stake and the costs and benefits of different courses of action. We need space for well-intentioned progressives to feel comfortable voicing concerns and disagreements with the rest of the movement.

Right now, I don’t think that’s possible and I’m afraid that the rewards will be reaped by the very people who view progressivism as the enemy.

Read More

Project 2025 and the Assault on Immigrant Rights
the statue of liberty is shown against a blue sky
Photo by Chris Linnett on Unsplash

Project 2025 and the Assault on Immigrant Rights

This essay is part of a series by Lawyers Defending American Democracy explaining how many of the administration’s executive actions harm individuals throughout the country and demonstrate the link between these actions and their roots in the authoritarian blueprint, Project 2025.

The Impact of Executive Edicts On Immigration – At War With Ourselves

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Those enduring words from the poem by Emma Lazarus were inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty about 160 years ago. Today, Donald Trump routinely delivers a very different message. As he sees it, nations around the world “are emptying their mental institutions and insane asylums,” and sending the residents to the United States. “They are also coming from Africa, the Congo in Africa, from prisons in Congo.” “They are coming in from Asia. They’re coming in from the Middle East.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Elbows Up, Arms Crossed
people gathering near green trees during daytime
Photo by Malu Laker on Unsplash

Elbows Up, Arms Crossed

Last month, 23andMe announced it was filing for bankruptcy, and dozens of states are suing to stop the company from selling off personal data. Yet, unlike for-profit businesses, lawyers in nonprofit organizations cannot just stop representing clients when funding ends. We continue the representation until the matter is concluded. This is a quagmire; immigration cases such as a U Visa can take 30 years to process from start to finish.

We also have a duty of confidentiality of information. This means that we cannot disclose information about representation. I remember learning, as a young attorney, that much like a doctor or therapist, if I saw a client in public, I could not speak to them or disclose that I knew them, unless they initiated that contact. The fact that I was a lawyer and guarded their secrets means everything.

Keep ReadingShow less
Congress Bill Spotlight: Congress Meeting in Philadelphia on Declaration of Independence 250th Anniversary

New legislation would convene Congress at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the site of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776, for the 250th anniversary on July 2, 2026.

Getty Images, Douglas Rissing

Congress Bill Spotlight: Congress Meeting in Philadelphia on Declaration of Independence 250th Anniversary

Hopefully, Nicolas Cage wouldn’t steal it this time, like he did in 2004’s implausible adventure movie National Treasure.

What the bill does

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites: Trump’s Pivot Amid Middle East Crisis

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.

(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites: Trump’s Pivot Amid Middle East Crisis

In his televised address to the nation Saturday night regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump declared that the attacks targeted “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.” He framed the operation as a necessary response to decades of Iranian aggression, citing past attacks on U.S. personnel and Tehran’s support for militant proxies.

While those justifications were likely key drivers, the decision to intervene was also shaped by a complex interplay of political strategy, alliance dynamics, and considerations of personal legacy.

Keep ReadingShow less