Omar Bennett
The filibuster is a legislative tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. While the filibuster has been criticised as a tool of partisan obstruction, defenders praise it as a protector of political minorities from the tyranny of the majority. The procedure is not explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution, and some legal scholars argue that it may not even be constitutional. The filibuster was not part of the founders' original vision of the Senate, and it only became theoretically possible after a change in Senate rules in 1806.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Is the filibuster rule in the constitution? | No, the filibuster is not in the US Constitution. |
| The emergence of the filibuster rule | The filibuster emerged in 1806 when the Senate removed a provision from its rules that allowed a simple majority to force a vote. |
| The use of the filibuster rule | The use of the filibuster has increased dramatically in recent decades. |
| The impact of the filibuster rule | The filibuster has troubling implications for democracy. |
| The removal of the filibuster rule | The filibuster can be eliminated by changing Senate Rule XXII, which would require a two-thirds supermajority. |
| The number of votes required to end a filibuster | 60 votes are required to end a filibuster. |
| The number of votes required to pass a bill | A simple majority of 51 votes is required to pass a bill. |
| The number of votes required to invoke cloture | 60 votes are required to invoke cloture. |
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What You'll Learn
The filibuster's constitutionality
The filibuster is a legislative tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. It is not explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution, and some legal scholars argue that it may not be constitutional, citing Article I, Section 5, which states that "a majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business".
The filibuster became possible in 1806 when the Senate, on the advice of Vice President Aaron Burr, removed a provision from its rules that allowed a simple majority to force a vote on the underlying question being debated. This inadvertently gave senators the right to unlimited debate, meaning they could delay a bill indefinitely without supermajority support. The procedure was first used in 1837, and its use increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to serious debate about changing Senate rules to curtail the practice.
In 1917, the Senate passed Rule XXII, also known as the cloture rule, which allowed for the breaking of a filibuster with a two-thirds majority. This rule was first used in 1919 to end a filibuster against the Treaty of Versailles. However, even with this rule in place, filibusters remained an effective tool for blocking legislation, as a two-thirds vote was difficult to obtain. In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths of all senators (60 out of 100 senators), which has effectively become the minimum needed to pass a law.
While the filibuster is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, there are a small number of supermajority requirements included in the original document. These include conviction on impeachment (two-thirds of senators present), agreeing to a resolution of advice and consent to ratification of a treaty (two-thirds of senators present), expelling a member of Congress (two-thirds of members voting in the house in question), overriding presidential vetoes (two-thirds of members voting of both houses), and proposing constitutional amendments (two-thirds of members voting of both houses).
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Rule XXII and cloture
In the United States Senate, a filibuster is a tactic used to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate, and a senator who seeks recognition is generally entitled to speak for as long as they wish. Rule XXII, or the cloture rule, allows the Senate to vote to limit debate and end a filibuster. This rule was adopted in March 1917 after Republican senators filibustered President Woodrow Wilson's proposal to arm merchant ships during World War I.
To invoke cloture, three-fifths of all senators (60 senators when all are present) must vote in favour of the motion. This was not always the case, as the original cloture rule required a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster. In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture to three-fifths, or 60 votes. This change was made by amending Rule XXII, which now effectively sets a 60-vote supermajority as the de facto minimum for passing legislation in the Senate.
Cloture motions are often associated with minority obstruction, as a three-fifths vote is typically required to schedule an up-or-down vote on most questions. However, cloture can also benefit Senate majorities. The majority leader can use cloture to structure the legislative process to their advantage, such as by scheduling votes at strategic times or imposing a germaneness requirement on amendments. Additionally, cloture provides a degree of certainty in an uncertain environment, allowing the majority to push its agenda through the Senate in a timely manner.
Changing Rule XXII would be the most straightforward way to eliminate the filibuster, but this would require a two-thirds supermajority. Another method is the "nuclear option," where the Senate majority leader uses a non-debatable motion to bring a bill for a vote and then invokes cloture with a simple majority. While some senators have argued that the Senate has a constitutional right to change its rules by a simple majority, the cloture rule itself sets a precedent that there is no exception to the rule at the beginning of a Congress.
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The nuclear option
The filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate, allowing senators to speak for as long as they wish. This means that a minority of senators can block a measure, even if it has the support of a simple majority.
While the nuclear option provides a mechanism to bypass the filibuster, it is a complex and controversial procedure that carries risks and implications for the dynamics of the Senate and the broader political landscape.
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Historical use of the filibuster
The filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The procedure allows a senator to speak endlessly on the Senate floor, with the Senate's rules placing few restrictions on debate. The tactic of using long speeches to delay action on legislation appeared in the very first session of the Senate, with Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay writing in his diary on September 22, 1789, that the "design of the Virginians [...] was to talk away the time, so that we could not get the bill passed."
The term "filibuster" is derived from the Dutch word for "freebooter" and the Spanish "filibusteros", which described pirates raiding Caribbean islands in the 1800s. The modern English form was borrowed in the 1850s, and by the mid-19th century, "filibustering" had become common in American English to describe "obstructing progress in a legislative assembly". One of the first known practitioners of the filibuster was the Roman senator Cato the Younger, who used it at least twice to frustrate the political objectives of Julius Caesar.
In the United States Senate, the filibuster has been used throughout history to delay or block votes on controversial issues. In 1917, Wisconsin senator Robert La Follette used the filibuster to demand free speech during wartime. During the 1930s, Senator Huey P. Long used the filibuster against bills that he believed favoured the rich over the poor. In the 1950s, Oregon senator Wayne Morse used the filibuster to educate the public on issues he considered to be of national interest. More recently, in 2025, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey conducted a speech lasting 25 hours and 5 minutes, setting the record for the longest solo speech in Senate history.
While the filibuster has been praised as a protector of political minorities, it has also been criticised as a tool of partisan obstruction that can paralyse the ability of the majority to act. The procedure has been used to block civil rights legislation and has a troubling legacy of perpetuating Jim Crow laws and thwarting voting reforms. As a result, there have been increasing calls for its elimination or reform to ensure that it does not impede the expansion of American democracy and the rights of voters.
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Calls for reform
The filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate, allowing senators to speak for as long as they wish. This has led to calls for reform of the filibuster rule, with critics arguing that it is undemocratic and violates majority rule.
One proposal for reform is to eliminate the filibuster altogether, arguing that it has been complicit in perpetuating Jim Crow laws and thwarting civil rights legislation and voting reforms. Changing Senate rules, particularly Rule XXII, would be one way to achieve this. Another method is the ""nuclear option", where the Senate majority leader uses a non-debatable motion to bring a bill for a vote and then raises a point of order that cloture can be invoked with a simple majority.
Other procedural alternatives have been proposed to modify the filibuster rule. Some reformers argue for returning to the original filibuster practice, requiring senators to hold the floor and speak at length to delay a bill. This would make obstruction more visible and might benefit major bills that the minority is willing to block covertly. For example, a 2012 proposal by Senator Jeff Merkley suggested that if between 51 and 59 senators support a cloture motion, debate would continue until there is no opposing senator speaking, at which point another cloture vote requiring only a simple majority would be triggered.
Additionally, some have suggested gradually reducing the cloture threshold each time a cloture vote fails, as proposed by Senator Tom Harkin in 2013. This would still allow the minority to slow down a bill and incentivize compromise between the majority and minority parties. However, this proposal was defeated by the Senate.
The use of the filibuster has increased dramatically in recent decades, and its implications for democracy have been questioned. The filibuster allows a minority of senators to check the actions of the majority, potentially preventing the majority from obtaining the required 60 votes to pass legislation. This has led to frustration among those who argue that the concept of majority rule in the Senate is already skewed, with small states and large states having the same number of votes.
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Frequently asked questions
A filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending.
No, the filibuster rule is not in the US Constitution. The procedure is not enumerated in the US Constitution; it only became theoretically possible with a change of Senate rules in 1806.
The filibuster can be eliminated by changing Senate rules, particularly Rule XXII, which would require a two-thirds supermajority. Another way to eliminate the filibuster is the "nuclear option", where the Senate majority leader would use a non-debatable motion to bring a bill for a vote and then raise a point of order that cloture can be invoked with a simple majority.
