What is a filibuster?

A filibuster is a Senate procedural tactic in which a senator or group of senators uses extended debate to delay or block a vote on a bill, nomination, or other matter. The filibuster is rooted in the Senate's tradition of unlimited debate, which the chamber adopted in its earliest days when senators were not subject to time limits on speeches. The term comes from the Dutch word vrijbuiter (freebooter), originally referring to pirates who hijacked ships, applied metaphorically to senators who hijack the Senate's schedule.

The original Senate had no formal way to end debate, meaning a determined senator could speak indefinitely as long as they remained standing and continued speaking. Famous early filibusters include Henry Clay's effort to break a filibuster against banking legislation in the 1840s and Strom Thurmond's record-setting 24-hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The cloture rule, adopted in 1917 under President Woodrow Wilson, allowed the Senate to end debate with a two-thirds vote. The threshold was reduced to three-fifths (60 senators out of 100) in 1975, where it remains for most legislation today. The 60-vote threshold means that most major legislation effectively requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, since the minority party can sustain a filibuster by holding 41 senators together.

The filibuster has changed significantly in recent years. Most filibusters today do not involve actual extended debate. Instead, the threat of a filibuster causes the Senate Majority Leader to require 60 votes for cloture before bringing many measures to a final vote. The Senate eliminated the filibuster for executive branch nominations and most judicial nominations in 2013, and for Supreme Court nominations in 2017. Both changes were made by the majority party using the so-called nuclear option to override the chair's ruling that 60 votes were needed.

The legislative filibuster remains, though it has been the subject of ongoing debate. Some have proposed abolishing the legislative filibuster entirely, allowing the Senate to operate by majority rule on legislation as the House does. Defenders of the filibuster argue that it forces bipartisan negotiation and protects minority rights in the Senate. Critics argue it allows a minority of senators to block legislation supported by majorities of voters and elected representatives.

Budget reconciliation provides a way to pass certain budget-related legislation with a simple majority, exempt from the filibuster. This procedure has been used to pass major laws including the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, the Affordable Care Act of 2010, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.