How can a filibuster be ended?

A filibuster can be ended by a cloture vote, which requires the support of 60 of the 100 senators. The cloture procedure was created in 1917 under Senate Rule 22, originally requiring a two-thirds vote (67 senators if all were present and voting). The threshold was reduced to three-fifths (60 of 100) in 1975, where it has remained for most matters.

To begin the cloture process, 16 senators must sign a cloture motion to end debate. The motion is filed and ripens after one full day, after which the Senate votes on cloture. If 60 senators vote to invoke cloture, debate is limited to 30 additional hours, and a final vote is then taken. If fewer than 60 senators vote to invoke cloture, the filibuster continues and the measure cannot proceed to a vote.

The 60-vote threshold has not always applied to every Senate action. The Senate eliminated the filibuster for most executive branch nominations and most judicial nominations in 2013, when the majority Democrats used what is called the nuclear option to change Senate precedent so that simple majority rule applied to those nominations. Senate Republicans extended the change to Supreme Court nominations in 2017 using the same procedural mechanism. Both changes were controversial at the time and have shifted how presidential nominations move through the Senate.

The legislative filibuster remains. Most legislation requires 60 votes for cloture before reaching a final vote. The major exception is budget reconciliation, a procedure created in 1974 that allows certain budget-related legislation to bypass the filibuster and pass with a simple majority. Reconciliation has been used to enact many major laws including tax cuts under multiple presidents, the Affordable Care Act of 2010, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Reconciliation is limited by the Byrd Rule, named after Senator Robert Byrd, which restricts what kinds of provisions can be included in reconciliation bills.

The 60-vote threshold gives the Senate minority party significant power. When the minority can hold 41 senators together, it can prevent legislation from advancing even if the majority and the President strongly support it. This dynamic has frustrated leaders of both parties and has been the subject of debates about whether to abolish the legislative filibuster entirely.