As Senate Republicans voted to repeal a federal regulation and repeal California’s vehicle emissions regulations, the filibuster is once again under scrutiny. The party is being forced to defend the tactic against Democratic accusations that they have raised the bar for the 60-vote rule.
The Biden administration’s federal permissions that would have permitted the state to phase out gas-powered vehicles over the next ten years through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) were overturned by Senate GOP members on Thursday.
They did so in spite of the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) decision, which the Senate lawmaker concurred with, that the waivers do not meet the requirements to be considered rules under the CRA.
Instead of needing 60 votes to overturn most legislative issues, the shift empowered Republicans to do so with a simple majority.
It also reignited the filibuster debate in the process. Despite protests from Democrats, Republicans maintain that they are not destroying the tradition.
“The Environmental Protection Agency submitted these rules as rules to Congress this year after being released by the Biden administration in its last days in office. That is a fact,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) stated on the floor Wednesday morning.
That puts them under examination under the Congressional examination Act. For a period. The narrative is over. The Senate is not subject to the GAO’s veto power.
The Congressional Review Act did not provide it. Not in accordance with Senate rules. Barrasso went on to say, “Not under Senate precedent,” and charged Democrats with employing “scare tactics” in reaction to the GOP’s challenge to the GAO position.
The House voted on the CRA earlier this month after the Environmental Protection Agency granted California the waivers shortly before former President Biden stepped down, sparking a months-long struggle. It was passed by nearly three dozen Democrats who voted with every Republican.
However, despite allegations that it is reversing its frequently stated promises to uphold the three-fifths vote figure, which was a defining feature of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) candidacy for leadership, the Senate GOP has been preparing for this battle for weeks.
The Republican leader during the filibuster battles in recent years, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), also supported the initiative, informing GOP members that it was distinct from the Democratic attempt to thwart it three years prior.
This helped calm apprehensive members, which resulted in Thursday’s party-line vote of 51-44.
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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) acknowledged that “this is an uncomfortable place to be,” but he defended the drive, claiming that it has nothing to do with the lawmaker and that it is about the upper chamber reclaiming its power over the GAO.
Prior to the vote, he declared, “If we don’t do this … then we have empowered the GAO more than anybody’s imagined, and you can be damned sure that Democrats and Republicans are going to abuse it.”
Thune’s several floor moves on Wednesday night, which prevented the party from directly confronting the lawmaker, Elizabeth MacDonough, highlighted that unpleasant sense. Rather than overriding her, Thune asked the chamber many questions when bringing the GOP-led resolution on electric vehicles to the floor.
This helped those who were uneasy about the idea of a direct confrontation and prevented MacDonough from controlling the decision.
However, they maintained that it was a narrow and restricted precedent that solely applied to the GAO and had nothing to do with the lawmaker in this particular case.
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Republicans have repeatedly tried to undermine the filibuster in recent years, but Democrats have been accused them of misusing it.
When they regain control of the Senate, every current Democrat has thrown their support behind amending the rules in some form. Schumer, in particular, made a determined effort to modify the rules in 2022 in order to protect voting rights.
Additionally, Republicans have already been accused of avoiding the lawmaker in this Congress alone. The party has stated that, rather than the lawmaker, it thinks Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs the Budget Committee, has the authority to rule on Republicans’ use of the current policy baseline to assess the next tax reform plan.
Over the past ten and a half years, the filibuster has had a tumultuous past, with both parties attacking it in different ways. After Republicans blocked numerous Democratic nominees for the appellate court, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) used the “nuclear” option, eliminating the 60-vote requirement for the majority of judicial and executive branch nominees.
After warning Democrats that they would pay for their actions, McConnell eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court candidates four years later.
The most recent move by Democrats to further weaken the rule was their 2022 carve-out of voting rights. Then-Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) refused to support the conference, therefore that attempt was unsuccessful.
Democratic legislators from California also expressed their ire at the decision throughout the week, claiming it attacks a single state and its governance powers.
Republicans, however, have made it clear that they are not interested in listening to what they perceive to be outright duplicity and the minority party’s contradictory statements.
